For the FCC, Kaspersky Lab poses a threat to US national security.

The FCC puts Kaspersky Lab on its blacklist. This venture would pose an “unacceptable”risk to the national security of the United States.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has added Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky Labs to its list of companies posing an “unacceptable”risk to US national security. This is the first time that a US agency has blacklisted a Russian company.

FCC blacklisted Kaspersky Lab

By making this decision, US companies cannot use grants from the FCC’s Universal Service Fund of $8 billion to help deploy telecommunications in rural and underserved communities to purchase products and services from Kaspersky Lab. The other seven companies currently on the list are from China, the most famous of which are undoubtedly Huawei and ZTE.

The company would pose an “unacceptable”risk to US national security.

FCC Commissioner Brendan Kahr said the move would help the United States secure its network from “threats from Chinese and Russian-controlled entities that seek to spy on or harm United States interests.”Two other companies were simultaneously added to this list by the FCC, China Telecom and China Mobile, both of which have already been subject to a number of restrictions.

“This decision is not based on any technical evaluation of Kaspersky Lab products, which the company has consistently recommended, but rather on purely political grounds,” Kaspersky said shortly after the FCC announcement. The company also stated that it is fully prepared to work with the FCC and other US government agencies to resolve any regulatory issues.

This initiative is also partly symbolic. Even before Friday’s announcement, former President Donald Trump’s 2017 executive order already banned the federal government from using Kaspersky Lab software. The FCC did not refer to the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine to explain its decision.