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The U.S. government announced on Thursday that it is banning the sale of Kaspersky<\/a> antivirus in the country, and is asking Americans who use the software to switch to a different provider.<\/p>\n The Commerce Department\u2019s Bureau of Industry and Security said it imposed the \u201cfirst of its kind\u201d ban, arguing that Kaspersky threatens U.S. national security and users\u2019 privacy because the company is based in Russia.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cRussia has shown it has the capacity, and even more than that, the intent to exploit Russian companies like Kaspersky to collect and weaponize the personal information of Americans. And that\u2019s why we are compelled to take the action that we\u2019re taking today,\u201d U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a call with reporters.<\/p>\n News of the ban was first reported by Reuters<\/a> ahead of the announcement. A Kaspersky spokesperson did not immediately respond to TechCrunch\u2019s request for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kaspersky will be banned from selling its software to American consumers and businesses starting on July 20, but the company will be able to provide software and security updates to existing customers until September 29. After that, Kaspersky will no longer be permitted to push software updates to U.S. customers, according to Raimondo.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThat means your software and services will degrade. That\u2019s why I strongly recommend that you immediately find an alternative to Kaspersky,\u201d Raimondo said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Raimondo said that U.S. consumers who already use Kaspersky\u2019s antivirus are not violating the law.<\/p>\n \u201cU.S. individuals and businesses that continue to use or have existing Kaspersky products and services are not in violation of the law, you have done nothing wrong and you are not subject to any criminal or civil penalties,\u201d said Raimondo. \u201cHowever, I would encourage you in the strongest possible terms, to immediately stop using that software and switch to an alternative in order to protect yourself and your data and your family.\u201d<\/p>\n To inform consumers, Raimondo said the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department will work to notify U.S. consumers, and the U.S. government will set up a website, \u201cso people who are impacted can find the information they need to understand why we\u2019re doing what we\u2019re doing, and help them take next steps.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n A senior U.S. Commerce Department official said during the press call that federal cybersecurity agency CISA will do outreach to critical infrastructure organizations that use Kaspersky software in their operations to help them find alternatives. The official also said that they don\u2019t plan on naming any specific action by Kaspersky that led to today\u2019s decision. (The Commerce Department asked reporters not to name the official.)<\/p>\n The ban announced Thursday is the latest escalation in a long series of U.S. government actions against the Moscow-headquartered Kaspersky.\u00a0<\/p>\n In September 2017, the Trump administration banned U.S. federal agencies from using Kaspersky software<\/a> over fears that the company could be compelled to help Russian intelligence agencies. Earlier in the year, it was<\/a> reported<\/a> that Russian government hackers had stolen U.S. classified documents stored on an intelligence contractor\u2019s home computer because it was running Kaspersky\u2019s antivirus, marking the first known incident of espionage resulting from use of the company\u2019s software.<\/p>\n The decision to ban Kaspersky has been in the works since last year, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal in April 2023.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n