Reuters learned about the US investigation into Kaspersky Lab

The Joe Biden administration has called on the US Department of Commerce to step up its investigation into Kaspersky Lab, sources told REUTERS.

The previously unknown investigation was transferred from the Department of Justice to the Department of Commerce in 2021, the agency writes. The agency "nearly" made progress in the investigation; in March, according to the interlocutors of the agency, the White House called for more active work on the case due to increased fears of Russian cyber attacks.

According to Reuters, Washington is concerned about the access of Russian antivirus to the computers of operators of critical infrastructure facilities, including power grids and networks of federal contractors.

The United States has previously included Kaspersky Lab on a list of communications equipment and services that may pose a threat to the national security of the country. At the end of March, The Wall Street Journal, citing sources, wrote that the US White House was putting pressure on the Treasury Department to include Kaspersky Lab in the sanctions list. However, due to a number of concerns, Washington has so far postponed the idea of ​​imposing restrictions on the Russian company, the newspaper writes.

Back in 2017, the United States banned government agencies from using Kaspersky Lab products, as they considered it a threat to the country's security. In particular, Washington assumed that the Russian authorities could gain access to US government documents through this software.