DRASTIC MEASURES

U.S. Senators Seek to Bar Military From Using Kaspersky Lab Software

Over concerns about ties to the Kremlin.

U.S. senators want to ban the military from using software made by Moscow-based cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab over concerns of “Russian government influence.” The Senate Armed Services Committee released a defense-spending policy bill Wednesday that would bar the U.S. Defense Department from using Kaspersky’s antivirus software because the Russian company “cannot be trusted to protect critical infrastructure, particularly computer systems vital to our nation’s security,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) said in a statement. The statement also warned that “ties between Kaspersky Lab and the Kremlin are very alarming.” The bill, which comes a day after employees of Kaspersky Lab in various U.S. cities were interviewed by the FBI, would need to get full approval from the Senate and House before being signed by President Donald Trump.