Elaine Duke, acting secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, has released a binding operational directive that requires federal agencies to discontinue the use of AO Kaspersky Lab’s anti-virus platforms and related products on their information systems within 90 days.
DHS said Wednesday the measure seeks to protect federal data systems from security vulnerabilities associated with the use of Kaspersky’s anti-virus software.
The department has expressed concerns about the potential ties of Moscow-based Kaspersky to the Russian government that could exploit the company’s products to compromise federal data infrastructure.
“DHS is providing an opportunity for Kaspersky to submit a written response addressing the department’s concerns or to mitigate those concerns,†the agency added.
DHS issued the directive nearly three months after the Senate Armed Services Committee approved its fiscal 2018 defense policy bill that would ban Kaspersky’s anti-virus software from Defense Department systems.
