Best Buy stops selling security software made by Russian firm

U.S. electronics retailer Best Buy has stopped selling products by leading computer security firm Kaspersky Lab amid concerns the company has links to Russian intelligence, the two companies confirmed Friday.

The newspaper reported that the decision was prompted by many reasons including congressional testimony raising questions about Moscow-based Kaspersky, a respected cyber security firm.

It has its main offices in Russian Federation and the United States.

Kaspersky insists that it is an independent software developer and has strongly denied having any links to the Kremlin. That's in addition to Congressional testimony in which six US intelligence chiefs expressed discomfort with the use Kaspersky products.

In an op-ed that ran in the New York Times this week, Sen.

Still, in light of heightened concerns around potential Russian-borne cyber threats, some US government officials have drafted legislation that would ban Kaspersky software on government systems.

A Best Buy spokesman confirmed that the products will no longer be sold at Best Buy, but offered no further information because the company doesn't comment on its relationships with vendors.

Kaspersky makes popular internet security software that competes with McAfee and Norton.

In July, the United States government removed Kaspersky from its list of approved vendors, weeks after top United States intelligence agency and law enforcement officials publicly expressed concerns about the safety of its software.

"Kaspersky Lab has enjoyed a decade-long partnership with Best Buy and its customer base, and Kaspersky Lab will continue to offer its industry-leading cybersecurity solutions to consumers through its website and other retailers".

Best Buy will allow customers who have bought Kasperksy software from it, and who still have active subscriptions, to exchange it for free for another product in the next 45 days. The software is aimed at protecting computers from malware, hackers, banner ads and spam.