• Following a ban issued in June, Kaspersky is reportedly shuttering its US operations.
• Later this week, new installations of Kaspersky software will be banned in the US.
• Customers will continue to receive updates until 29th September.

The United States seems intent on making sure that the only entities able to access the data of its citizens, properly or improperly, should be US based companies. This as in June President Joe Biden banned the sale of Kaspersky software in the US.

The ban came as a result of Kaspersky’s alleged ties to the Russian government even though no such ties have been proven. Of course, Kaspersky could bow to the Kremlin’s demands but again, the US has no evidence that Kaspersky has or will. However, the US has a habit of banning companies based on “maybe”, see Huawei as an example.

With the ban of new installations of Kaspersky software set to come into effect this week, Axios reports that Kaspersky has begun winding down its US operations.

“The company has carefully examined and evaluated the impact of the U.S. legal requirements and made this sad and difficult decision as business opportunities in the country are no longer viable,” Kaspersky told the publication.

“Kaspersky has been operating in the U.S. for close to 20 years, contributing to the nation’s strategic cybersecurity goals by safeguarding organizations and individuals in the country from ever-evolving cyberthreats,” the firm added.

Back in June, when Biden decided to ban Kaspersky software from the US, the cybersecurity firm said it’d pursue all legally available options to fight the ban. It seems that those avenues have been exhausted or Kaspersky simply doesn’t want to deal with the headache anymore.

The cybersecurity company will of course continue to operate in other parts of the world but how an exit from the US will affect Kaspersky’s bottom-line is an unknown quantity at this stage. The company did say in June that it had marked an 11 percent increase in sales bookings in 2023.

“Kaspersky does not engage in activities which threaten U.S. national security and, in fact, has made significant contributions with its reporting and protection from a variety of threat actors that targeted U.S. interests and allies,” the firm said in June.

The cybersecurity firm is yet to comment on the news of its exit from the US but customers will be able to continue receiving updates until 29th September.