US adds Russia's Kaspersky to its lists of national security threats
Two Chinese telecom firms have also been added to the list
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said last week that it had added Russia's cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab to its list of communications equipment and service providers that it believes constitute a danger to US national security.
This is the first time a Russian firm has been added to the list, which was previously dominated by Chinese firms such as Huawei and ZTE.
Companies on the list cannot receive any of the $8 billion available annually from the FCC's Universal Service Fund, which has been set up to support telecommunication services in rural areas or for low-income customers or institutions such as hospitals, schools and libraries.
The FCC added five Chinese corporations to its list last year. They were: Huawei Technologies, ZTE Corp., Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology, Hytera Communications, and Zhejiang Dahua Technology.
On Friday, two more Chinese companies were added: China Mobile and China Telecom.
According to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, the new designations will help in protecting American networks from dangers posed by Russian and Chinese state-backed groups seeking to engage in espionage or otherwise undermine America's interests.
US officials have long warned that using Kaspersky software may expose American networks to malicious activity emanating from Moscow. In 2017, they banned Kaspersky's main antivirus product from government networks.
Kaspersky Lab, which is headquartered in Moscow, has always denied such claims, stating that it is not a Russian government tool.
Responding to the FCC's move, Kaspersky said that the decision was based on political considerations, in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, rather than a thorough examination of Kaspersky's products and services.
The firm added that it was ready to work with the US government authorities to address the concerns of FCC and any other regulatory agency.
Kaspersky is a well-known Russian cyber security firm, and its antivirus software has long been among the most popular in the world.
The company was the first to expose information on the Equation Group, a US government hacking group. Over the past years, Kaspersky has also investigated many hacking groups thought to be linked to the Russian state.
However, the firm has also faced its own criticism for its alleged ties to the Russian government.
For example, in 2017 the Trump administration prohibited the use of Kaspersky software on government machines.
In 2017, a White House official said that having Kaspersky tools on American networks posed an unacceptable risk, because Russian law requires the firm to cooperate with the FSB, the country's major intelligence agency.
Ten days ago, Germany's Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) warned companies against the use of anti-malware software from Kaspersky.
Officials said that Russian intelligence agencies might pressurise the company into supporting them.
"A Russian IT manufacturer may itself carry out offensive operations, be forced to attack target systems against its will, or itself be spied upon as a victim of a cyber operation without its knowledge, or be misused as a tool for attacks against its own customers," BSI warned.
Earlier this month, the company's founder Eugene Kaspersky was criticised by members of the security community when he struck a neutral stance on the Ukraine conflict.
His critics said that maintaining silence on the issue means indirectly backing the Russian government - something that Kaspersky, headquartered in Moscow, may feel compelled to do.