The US extends the ‘black list’ of sanctions, Chinese and Russian companies are counted

Cybersecurity company AO Kaspersky Lab is the first Russian company to be on the US sanctions list. (Source: Getty)

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on March 25 added two Chinese telecommunications companies, China Telecom (Americas) Corp and China Mobile International USA, to the list of information equipment and service providers. communications that are deemed to pose threats to national security.

The US Secure Communications Network Act of 2019 requires the FCC to publish and update a list of telecommunications equipment and services that pose an “unacceptable” risk to national security and safety. all of the American people.

In March 2021, the FCC listed five Chinese companies including Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision and Dahua as a security threat.

Notably, the latest FCC “blacklist” update includes the appearance of a Russian business for the first time – the cybersecurity company AO Kaspersky Lab.

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said the update “will help protect our networks from threats posed by Chinese and Russian state-backed entities.”

Washington has long warned that using Kaspersky software risks “opening up” US networks to malicious activity from Moscow, and banned the use of Kaspersky’s flagship antivirus product in foreign countries. Federal computer system since 2017.

However, Kaspersky has always denied that the Moscow-based company is a tool of the Russian government.