Kremlin says US decision to ban Kaspersky software designed to stifle competition

The Kremlin said on Friday that a US decision to ban sales of Kaspersky’s software was a typical move by Washington to stifle foreign competition with American products.

The Biden administration on Thursday said it would ban the sale of antivirus software made by Russia’s Kaspersky Lab in the United States, citing what it said was the Kremlin’s influence over the company which poses a significant security risk.

Announcing the ban, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told reporters that “Russia has shown it has the capacity and…the intent to exploit Russian companies like Kaspersky to collect and weaponize the personal information of Americans”.