Kaspersky is providing free safety merchandise for six months and ideas for staying protected as a parting present to shoppers in the US.
The corporate determined to shut its enterprise and lay off workers within the U.S. after the U.S. government added Kaspersky to the Entity List, a catalog of “international people, corporations, and organizations deemed a nationwide safety concern.”
Farewell present to U.S. customers
In a message addressed solely to customers within the U.S., Kaspersky is thanking its clients for selecting and trusting its merchandise over time.
As a token of farewell, the corporate is providing customers within the U.S. a few of its safety software program freed from cost for half a yr.
“With Kaspersky leaving the U.S., we’d wish to pay you again with the least we will: gifting you a choice of our safety options without spending a dime for six months,” reads the message.
The corporate additionally offers a brief checklist of common ideas that may assist customers keep away from bother and hold safer:
- keep in mind to at all times again up your knowledge
- be cautious of hyperlinks and double-check their supply earlier than clicking
- shield your identification on-line, change passwords commonly, and hold them lengthy and sophisticated
supply: BleepingComputer
The six-month limitation is probably going as a result of Division of Commerce’s Bureau of Trade and Safety (BIS) banning sales and distribution of Kaspersky products, together with updates, in the US beginning September 29.
Which means after that date, U.S. customers of Kaspersky merchandise will now not have the ability to obtain computerized updates and antivirus definitions via the software program. As an alternative, they would want to manually set up them through Kaspersky’s web site, if made out there, doubtlessly reducing the safety of the product.
In an announcement for BleepingComputer, Kaspersky mentioned that on July 20 it can start shutting down its enterprise within the U.S., which additionally entails lay-offs.
The choice and course of follows the Closing Dedication by the U.S. Division of Commerce, prohibiting the gross sales and distribution of Kaspersky merchandise within the U.S.
The corporate has rigorously examined and evaluated the impression of the U.S. authorized necessities and made this unhappy and tough resolution as enterprise alternatives within the nation are now not viable.
Whereas the U.S. has banned Kaspersky, the corporate’s merchandise are nonetheless extensively used and significant vulnerabilities in any of them are in demand.
As an example, vulnerability disclosure outfit SSD Safe Disclosure headquartered in South Korea has announced “BIG payouts” for pre-authentication distant code/command execution in Kaspersky Safety Heart, a safety administration resolution for companies.
With the U.S. market now off-limits and with pressure from the European Parliament (PDF) to exclude the use in important and delicate sectors within the European Union of merchandise from distributors in China and Russia, Kaspersky is now compelled to maneuver to different areas, reminiscent of Asia and South America.
