MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova criticized Washington’s decision to halt the use of Kaspersky Lab cybersecurity firm's products and services by the US federal authorities, arguing that such a move called fair competition into question.
On Wednesday, the US Department of Homeland Security directed the US federal departments and agencies to discontinue use of Kaspersky Lab products within the next 90 days, citing the company's alleged links to the Russian government and related threats to national security.
"Media: 'The US Homeland Security Department says that Kaspersky products represent a threat to security.’ This is fair competition expressed in three lines," Zakharova wrote on Facebook late on Wednesday.
In response to Washington’s move, Kaspersky Lab said it did not help any government to conduct aggressive activities in cyberspace. The cybersecurity firm added that it was ready to prove that US claims against the company were based on false allegations as no credible evidence of its so-called links to Russian authorities has ever been presented.
When politics use the news to shape facts, no one wins. Our response to DHS Binding Operational Directive 17-01 ⇒
— Eugene Kaspersky (@e_kaspersky) 13 сентября 2017 г.
https://t.co/BZkFOzqK0o pic.twitter.com/1KDqTfl7CT
The Russian Embassy in the United States, in turn, pointed out that Washington's attacks on Kaspersky Lab were delaying efforts to rebuild US-Russian working relations in order to combat terrorism.
