United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has added Russia’s AO Kaspersky Labs to the list of communication equipment companies which pose a national threat to the country.
The FCC made this announcement at the end of last week also including two Chinese companies namely; China Mobile International USA (HK: 0941) and China Telecom Americas Corp. (HK: 0728).
FCC has been listing a number of companies from China on the list including Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies (HWT) however, AO Kaspersky becomes the first Russian based firm on the list.
“The new designations will help secure our networks from threats posed by Chinese and Russian state-backed entities seeking to engage in espionage and otherwise harm America’s interests,” said FCC commissioner, Brendan Carr.
The FCC was quick to add that the announcement is not in anyway linked to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine or even the recent sanctions imposed by United States and her European allies on Russia for invading Ukraine.
On the other side, Kaspersky expressed its frustration by the FCC decision claiming that it was made based on political grounds.
“The move was unsubstantiated and is a response to the geopolitical climate rather than a comprehensive evaluation of the integrity of Kaspersky’s products and services,” added Kaspersky.
