Australian government entities have been instructed to not use any products and services provided by Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky.
Australia’s Department of Home Affairs issued Direction 002-2025, which “requires Australian Government entities to prevent the installation of Kaspersky Lab, Inc. products and web services from all Australian Government systems and devices, and where found, to remove all existing instances”.
The direction has been issued under the Protective Security Policy Framework in an effort to “manage a protective security risk to the Commonwealth”, which indicates that — similar to other countries — Australia is concerned about the Russian government’s potential control and influence over Kaspersky.
“After considering threat and risk analysis, I have determined that the use of Kaspersky Lab, Inc. products and web services by Australian Government entities poses an unacceptable security risk to Australian Government, networks and data, arising from threats of foreign interference, espionage and sabotage,” said Department of Home Affairs Secretary Stephanie Foster.
Government departments and agencies have been given a deadline of April 1 to complete the removal of Kaspersky products.
SecurityWeek has reached out to Kaspersky for comment and will update this article if the company responds.
The move comes less than a year after the US announced a complete ban on Kaspersky software over fears that the company is controlled by the Russian government.
The US banned Kaspersky products and services on government systems in 2017 and in June 2024 announced that the Russian firm’s products would be completely banned in the country.
While Kaspersky was not prohibited from providing products and services related to threat intelligence, training, and consulting in the United States, the company decided to shut down operations in the US the next month.
Kaspersky sold its US customer base to UltraAV, a brand of Pango Group, but the transition did not go smoothly.
Shortly after the US announced the complete ban of Kaspersky products last year, Australia said it had been monitoring the developments, but did not follow suit.
In some European countries, Kaspersky products have not been allowed on government systems for several years.
UPDATE: Kaspersky has provided the following statement to SecurityWeek:
“Kaspersky is disappointed with the decision of the Department of Home Affairs of Australia to stop and prevent the use of Kaspersky products and web services on Australian Government systems and devices. Kaspersky believes that the decision stems from the current geopolitical climate and was not supported by any technical assessment of the company’s products, which the company has been continuously advocating for. The fact that the directive was issued without any warning or opportunity for engagement to address the Australian Government’s concerns highlights its political nature.
The allegations cited in the direction are not based on specific evidence and no due process has been organized or followed to provide justification. Kaspersky regrets the measures depriving organizations of reliable cybersecurity protection and maintains that their ultimate impact is the deterioration of global cyber resilience. Being an advocate of an evidence-based approach to IT products’ security assessments, Kaspersky is determined to continue addressing any fact-based concerns about the security of its products in an open and transparent manner. With the current restriction covering only Australian Government systems and devices, Kaspersky will continue delivering reliable cyber protection to its users and customers in the country and across the globe.
Kaspersky provides industry-leading products and services to customers to protect them from all types of cyberthreats. It has stated clearly that, as a private independent company, it doesn’t have ties with any government. The company believes that transparency and the continued implementation of concrete measures to demonstrate its enduring commitment to integrity and trustworthiness to its customers is paramount.”
Related: Kaspersky, Pango Respond to User Backlash as Transition to UltraAV Nearly Complete
Related: House Lawmakers Push to Ban AI App DeepSeek From US Government Devices
