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Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Russian cybersecurity company, Kaspersky Lab, sued the U.S. government on Monday after the Department of Homeland Security banned the use of its software on government computers. Kapersky filed a suit in the U.S. District Court in Washington, alleging the DHS deprived the company of due process when Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke instituted the ban on its software in September.
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"Because Kaspersky Lab has not been provided a fair opportunity in regards to the allegations and no technical evidence has been produced to validate DHS's actions, it is in the company's interests to defend itself in this matter," Kaspersky Lab founder Eugene Kaspersky said.
Duke gave all federal 90 days agencies to stop using Kapersky security products on Sept. 13, stating the company's anti-virus products allow "broad access" to files and can be exploited by "malicious cyberactors" to compromise the systems.
President Donald Trump signed the ban into law as part of his $700 billion defense policy bill last week and Sen. Jean Shaheen, D-N.H., told NPR there were concerns Kaspersky officials had collaborated with Russia's Federal Security Service or FSB.
"There are concerns on record and some that suggest there has been direct collaboration with certain officials from Kaspersky and from the FSB, which is of course the successor to the KGB," Shaheen said.
Kaspersky's suit argues the ban violates the Administrative Procedures Act and the Fifth Amendment because the DHS's claims weren't backed by "substantial evidence" beyond news stories based on anonymous sources.
The company also said is it is receiving and processing an unprecedented volume of product return and early termination requests because of U.S. government actions" and its third quarter sales this year had fallen significantly.
"DHS has harmed Kaspersky Lab's reputation and its commercial operations without any evidence of wrongdoing by the company," Kaspersky said.
