Ban on use of Kaspersky Lab software in U.S. to benefit cybercrime - company

MOSCOW. June 21 (Interfax) - Russia's Kaspersky Lab is aware of the U.S. Commerce Department's decision to ban U.S. companies and citizens from using Kaspersky anti-virus software and believes that such steps would only serve to benefit cybercrime.

"Kaspersky is aware of the decision by the U.S. Department of Commerce to prohibit the usage of Kaspersky software in the United States. The decision does not affect the company's ability to sell and promote cyber threat intelligence offerings and/or trainings in the U.S.," Kaspersky Lab said in a statement.

"The primary impact of these measures will be the benefit they provide to cybercrime," it said.

"International cooperation between cybersecurity experts is crucial in the fight against malware, and yet this will restrict those efforts. Furthermore, it takes away the freedom that consumers and organizations, large and small, should have to use the protection they want, in this case forcing them away from the best anti-malware technology in the industry, according to independent tests," the company said, adding that its current clients in the U.S. would face "a dramatic disruption."

Despite the company's proposal to carry out a verification of its products by a trusted third party, the U.S. Department of Commerce made this decision "based on the present geopolitical climate and theoretical concerns, rather than on a comprehensive evaluation of the integrity of Kaspersky's products and services," it said.

"The company intends to pursue all legally available options to preserve its current operations and relationships," Kaspersky Lab said.