The regulator last year designated five
Chinese companies including Huawei and ZTE
as the first firms on the list, which was mandated under a 2019 law.
Kaspersky is the first Russian company listed.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said the new
designations "will help secure our networks from threats posed by Chinese
and Russian state-backed entities seeking to engage in espionage and otherwise
harm America's interests."
US officials have long said that running
Kaspersky software could open American networks to malign activity from Moscow
and banned Kaspersky's flagship antivirus product from federal networks in
2017. Moscow-based Kaspersky has consistently denied being a tool of the
Russian government,
In naming Kaspersky, the FCC announcement
did not cite Russia's invasion of Ukraine or recent warnings by President Joe
Biden of potential cyberattacks by Russia in response to US sanctions and
support of Ukraine.
Kaspersky said in a statement that it was
disappointed in the FCC decision, arguing it was "made on political
grounds." The move was “unsubstantiated and is a response to the
geopolitical climate rather than a comprehensive evaluation of the integrity of
Kaspersky's products and services," the company said.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington said
Friday that the FCC "abused state power and maliciously attacked Chinese
telecom operators again without factual basis. The US should immediately stop
its unreasonable suppression of Chinese companies.
"China will take necessary measures to
resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese
companies," it added.
The Chinese companies did not immediately
comment.
In October, the FCC revoked the US
authorization for China Telecom (Americas), saying it "is subject to
exploitation, influence and control by the Chinese government."
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The FCC cited its prior decisions to deny
or revoke the Chinese telecom companies' ability to operate in United States in
its decision to add them to the threat list.
The FCC also revoked the US authorisations
of China Unicom and Pacific Networks and its wholly owned subsidiary ComNet.
In 2019, the FCC rejected China Mobile's
bid to provide US telecommunications services, citing national security risks.
Inclusion on the "covered list"
means money from the FCC's $8 billion (roughly Rs. 61,020 crore) annual
Universal Service Fund may not be used to purchase or maintain products from
the companies. The fund supports telecommunications for rural areas, low-income
consumers, and facilities such as schools, libraries and hospitals.
The FCC last year also named Hytera
Communications, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology and Dahua Technology as
security threats.
FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said the
agency worked closely with US national security agencies to update the list and
will add additional companies if warranted. © Reuters
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