Kaspersky, a Russian antivirus software company, has been added to the U.S. list of national security risks.
The decision comes two weeks after the German government advised its citizens to uninstall Kaspersky antivirus software, citing security concerns following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It also follows Russia’s threat of cyberattacks on nations that support sanctions against the country.
Kaspersky has been among the top-rated cybersecurity solutions in the world.
“The product is solid,’ said cybersecurity expert Chris Hamer.
Hamer says Kaspersky has been very transparent by opening its source codes to the public and setting up data centers outside of Russia. But he also says there is a stigma attached to a Russian-based cybersecurity company during a time when Russia has threatened cyberattacks.
I asked Hamer if Kaspersky software users should stop using the software.
“Unfortunately, you don’t want to be on the wrong side of that, like they were right and we were wrong or they were wrong and we were right kind of situation,” Hamer said. “So it’s not a very straightforward answer.”
At one time, Best Buy endorsed and sold Kaspersky antivirus software. But you no longer see it on its shelves. A Best Buy technical support employee told News4JAX that the company parted ways from Kaspersky several years ago following Russia’s involvement in the 2016 elections. And now that all eyes are back on Russia, the question is whether or not Kaspersky is being influenced by the Russian government.
“Could they be influenced? Yes. They could be. Is there any evidence of it? Not yet,” Hamer said.
If you are using Kaspersky on your home computer and would feel more comfortable getting rid of it and replacing it with something similar, Hamer says to make sure to do your homework because there are a lot of antivirus software systems on the market.