US bans antivirus software made by Kaspersky

Washington: The US will ban the sale of antivirus software made by Moscow-based cybersecurity company Kaspersky.

The company's operations in the US presented a national security risk "due to the Russian government's offensive cyber capabilities and capacity to influence or direct Kaspersky's operations," the US Department of Commerce said in a statement on Thursday.

"Kaspersky will generally no longer be able to, among other activities, sell its software within the US or provide updates to software already in use."

Private and professional users of Kaspersky's widely installed antivirus software should find an alternative due to the risk, the Department added.