Kaspersky says to stay in dialogue with Lithuania on software ban

DAVOS, Jan 25 (PRIME) -- Russian antivirus software maker Kaspersky Lab will continue dialogue with Lithuania on the ban on its products by the government to prove faultiness of such a move, Anton Shingaryov, the company’s vice president for government relations, said on Thursday.

The Lithuanian market contributes a small part to the company’s sales. “The matter is not in the scale of the market, but in reputation. Unfortunately, the decision of the Lithuanian authorities, like in the case with the U.S., is groundless: the government of this country has not provided any facts or evidence. This is why, naturally, we’ll try to show that it was an incorrect decision,” Shingaryov said.

Lithuania’s Ministry of National Defense said in December 2017 that the government sees products of Kaspersky Lab a potential threat to national security and obliged state agencies and companies to replace them shortly. State authorities are ordered to analyze the risk of using Kaspersky Lab’s products and to replace them duly. No timeframe was disclosed.

The decision applies only to critical infrastructure, while private enterprises should assess possible risks of using Kaspersky Lab’s products individually.

“We’re communicating with the government of Lithuania and will continue dialogue,” Shingaryov said, adding that retailers in the European country do not refuse to distribute the company’s solutions.

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