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Kaspersky Lab to fight US court’s dismissal of its bid challenging software ban

Kaspersky Lab said these actions were "the product of unconstitutional agency and legislative processes and unfairly targeted the company without any meaningful fact finding"

MOSCOW, May 31. /TASS/. Russian multinational cybersecurity and anti-virus firm Kaspersky Lab will appeal the decision of the US court for the District of Columbia dismissing the company’s lawsuits challenging the US government ban on its software in 2018, its press service told TASS.

"Kaspersky Lab is disappointed with the Court’s decisions on its constitutional challenges to the U.S. Government prohibitions on the use of its products and services by federal agencies," the company said in a statement. "We will vigorously pursue our appeal rights."

"Policy prohibiting the U.S. Government’s use of Kaspersky Lab products and services actually undermines the government’s expressed goal of protecting federal systems from the most serious cyber threats," the company stressed.

Kaspersky Lab said these actions were "the product of unconstitutional agency and legislative processes and unfairly targeted the company without any meaningful fact finding." "Given the lack of evidence of wrongdoing by the company and the imputation of malicious cyber activity by nation-states to a private company, these decisions have broad implications for the global technology community."

On Wednesday, the US court dismissed the lawsuits filed by Kaspersky Lab explaining the decision by the lack of grounds. Even if the court took the Russian company’s side and ruled to overturn the directive of the US Homeland Security Department, the company’s damages would not be compensated. Under the court’s ruling, the directive included in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 will remain in force.

In February 2018, Kaspersky Lab said the provisions of this directive violate the US Constitution by specifically and unfairly singling out the company for legislative punishment, based on vague and unsubstantiated allegations without any basis in fact. Kaspersky Lab stressed that no evidence had been presented of any wrongdoing by the company, or of any misuse of its products.

The US authorities decided to abandon the products by Kaspersky Lab in late 2017, citing risks for information security. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the US authorities decision against Kaspersky Lab politicized. Russia’s authorities dismissed these steps of the US government as manifestation of unfair methods of competition.