Government employees continue to use Kaspersky despite the ban.
The ban on Kaspersky has not had the anticipated impact.
Kaspersky, the Russia-based antivirus company, has experienced a 58% reduction in the usage of its products in the United States since they were banned nearly three months ago due to national security concerns. Despite this ban, recent research indicates that 40% of government agencies still use Kaspersky software, which has led the U.S. to remain the company’s top customer, with 19 agencies actively employing its products.
The ban was instituted in September, following rising concerns about potential Kremlin influence, although the company has consistently denied such claims. Although Kaspersky is no longer allowed to sell or update its antivirus software in the country, the usage of its products has only decreased by 58%, raising concerns about national security risks.
Warnings about the use of Kaspersky have been issued in other countries, such as the United Kingdom, Italy, and Germany, although no similar bans have been implemented. In Germany, the use of the software has decreased by 69%, suggesting that the measures taken there have been more effective compared to those in the United States.
Some Kaspersky customers have seen their antivirus products forcibly replaced by partnering with other programs like UltraAV, contributing to a global decline in the usage of the company's software. However, some users express that they are not concerned about data theft and are reluctant to blindly trust the U.S. government’s claims on this issue, while others prefer not to waste the money they have already invested.
If this trend continues, Kaspersky may find itself virtually out of the market in the near future, although it could take several months to reach that state.
