Best Buy will no longer be selling products by Kaspersky Lab, according to The Verge. It has been suggested that the company is under the influence of the Russian Government.
President Donald Trump raised many questions regarding the Moscow-based cyber security firm in the last couple of weeks. This has led to the rise of several speculation reports which have accused Kaspersky of keeping ties with the Russian government. Most of the products worldwide are protected by Kaspersky Lab’s antivirus software. It is highly possible for them to simply swap personal information stored on various systems without the knowledge of users.
This could also potentially be used to launch a cyber-attack on the United States.
Kaspersky denies allegations
E-commerce giant Best Buy feels that there are too many questions that are unanswered about the cybersecurity firm. Therefore, they have decided to discontinue its products without conducting any investigation of their own. Kaspersky Lab has around 323 million users in the United States alone. This would mean a great loss to them if United States citizens were to boycott the purchase of their products. In their defense, Kaspersky has said that they have no links to the Russian government. But federal lawmakers don’t feel it’s enough proof to show their innocence. According to a report by Tech Radar, the authorities are encouraging a nation-wide ban of Kaspersky software.
America is at such a stage that they can be “cyber attacked” anytime. Therefore, it is important that all the safeguards are put in place.
Kaspersky Lab employees and the Russian government conversation
According to a report by the Star Tribune, email conversations between Kaspersky Lab employees and the Russian government (Kremlin) were leaked online last month.
This has only led everyone’s suspicions regarding the ties, to grow stronger. Intelligence officials of the US are no longer comfortable using Kaspersky’s products. The evidence of direct links between Eugene Kaspersky (Founder) and the Russian government, is enough to put them on edge. When Best Buy was asked for a comment on the matter, they simply confirmed that Kaspersky products will no longer be available.
However, they refused to comment on their relationship with the vendors. The basic price-range of Kaspersky products was around $40 to $100. The software was among the best-sellers on the shelves for Best Buy.
