As the U.S. government continues to ratchet up sanctions in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, public reporting suggests there may be a new target in the sites of U.S. sanctions authorities: Kaspersky Labs (Kaspersky), the popular Russian cybersecurity and antivirus company. Any sanctions imposed by the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) would come on the heels of other recent government action against Kaspersky. On March 25, 2022, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) added Kaspersky to its list of communications equipment and services that are deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States, as well as the safety and security of the American people. Kaspersky, which is headquartered in Moscow, is the first non-Chinese company added to the list that includes Shenzhen-based Huawei Technologies Company and ZTE Corporation, among others. Kaspersky has publicly disagreed with the decision.
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