Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine made a lot of Russian companies out of business in the world except the inside of country borders; while the global companies are leaving the country one by one. Now, the German government has warned its citizens for avoiding using Kaspersky security products.
Not forced by law, but advised
The Federal Office of Information Security of Germany (BSI) has published a statement about Kaspersky products. The statement says that Kaspersky antivirus solutions are unreliable and they have doubts about the reliability of the manufacturer. In addition, the agency advises replacing the Kaspersky security products with alternatives. Those statements and advice are especially aimed at the companies and authorities with special security interests and operators of critical infrastructures.
The Kaspersky products were replaced by the U.S., U.K., and the Dutch governments by 2018
Click here to read the BSI warning (in German)
The measures are advised by the agency and they are not forced by law. It looks like an actual security measure instead of a part of the ongoing “sanction everything from Russia” campaign. The German government is concerned about potential actions by Kaspersky, like allowing Russian-made malware through the antivirus software, as a result of potential pressure from the Russian government.
Kaspersky’s response
Kaspersky has also released an official statement in response to BSI. The company claims that the statement is not based on a technical assessment of Kaspersky products and they have not any ties to the Russian government. Kaspersky also invites its customers to run a free technical and comprehensive review of their solutions.
« We believe this decision is not based on a technical assessment of Kaspersky products -that we continuously advocated for with the BSI and across Europe- but instead is being made on political grounds. We will continue to assure our partners and customers in the quality and integrity of our products, and we will be working with the BSI for clarification on its decision and for the means to address its and other regulators’ concerns »
You can read the full statement and the permissions provided while reviewing the products by following the link below: