Kaspersky and the Russian government

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Kaspersky Lab has faced controversy over allegations that it has engaged with the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) to use its software to scan computers worldwide for material of interest—ties which the company has actively denied. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security banned Kaspersky products from all government departments on 13 September 2017, alleging that Kaspersky Lab had worked on secret projects with Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB). In October 2017, subsequent reports alleged that hackers working for the Russian government stole confidential data from the home computer of a National Security Agency (NSA) contractor in 2015 via Kaspersky antivirus software. Kaspersky denied the allegations, stating that the software had detected Equation Group malware samples which it uploaded to its servers for analysis in its normal course of operation.

The company has since announced commitments to increased accountability, such as soliciting independent reviews and verification of its software's source code, and announcing that it would migrate some of its core infrastructure for selected foreign customers from Russia to Switzerland. The allegations of ties to the Russian government were ignited again with the company's controversial response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.