FCC puts Kaspersky on security threat list, says it poses “unacceptable risk“

The FCC added the company to a list of firms that are not eligible for FCC funds because they posed an unacceptable risk to US national security.

The move adds Kaspersky to the list. Eugene Kaspersky, the company's founder, attended a KGB-sponsored technical college and has been accused of having ties to Russian military and intelligence services.

Kaspersky, which was already banned from all US government networks, was one of three firms added to the covered list on Friday. China Mobile and China Telecom were the other two.

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said that he was pleased that the national security agencies agreed with his assessment that China Mobile and China Telecom appeared to meet the threshold necessary to add these entities to our list.

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The Federal Communications Commission banned certain federal subsidies from being used to purchase Kaspersky products and services. This decision is not based on any technical assessment of the products, but is being made on political grounds.

The Federal Office for Information Security in Germany warned companies not to use Kaspersky products. The company could be coerced into helping the Russian intelligence services.

The first Russian company to be added to the US security threat list was Kaspersky. The FCC's Universal Service Fund has $8 billion available annually, but companies that appear on the list are not eligible. The fund supports telecomm services in rural areas or for low-income consumers.

Russian military forces invaded neighboring Ukraine and indiscriminately unleashed a continuing stream of bombs and other munitions on civilians. Eugene said his company has complete independence from the Kremlin.