![]() “This level of risk is not alleviated by the fact that the item being acquired has been sold or offered for sale to the general public, either in the same form or a modified form as sold to the government, nor by the small size of the purchase.” ![]() “While the law does not specifically address acquisitions of commercial items, including COTS items, there is an unacceptable level of risk for the government in buying hardware, software or services developed or provided in whole or in part by Kaspersky Lab,” the rule states, citing a determination by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy. The rule adds another layer, as well, extending the prohibition to all commercial off-the-shelf products. ![]() ![]() The final rule also reasserts that the prohibition extends to purchases below the simplified acquisition threshold, designed to exempt small purchases whenever possible. government-and the smarter action for companies is-don’t even risk trying to segment or segregate, just get it out of your systems,” he told Nextgov. While a vendor’s commercial practice would be exempt from the rule, the government’s intentions are unambiguous, he said. The ban goes so far as to restrict the use of Kaspersky products on any IT system that touches government work, even so far down as payroll systems for a contractor with a federal practice, according to Alan Chvotkin, executive vice president and counsel for the Professional Services Council, a trade group representing federal contractors. The rule notes this includes subcontractors at all levels. The rule restricts any federal agency from purchasing or otherwise “contracting for hardware, software and services developed or provided by Kaspersky Lab or its related entities, or using any such hardware, software or services in the development of data or deliverables first produced in the performance of the contract,” as stated in the contract clause added to the Federal Acquisition Regulation. agencies gleaned through their platform with the Russian government.Īgencies were already under mandate from the Homeland Security Department to remove all Kaspersky products from their systems by October 2017, but the acquisition rule extends that to contractors providing services to federal agencies. officials also expressed concern that Russian law would compel the company to share sensitive cybersecurity information on U.S. intelligence community that Kaspersky executives-some of whom are former Russian intelligence officers-have close ties to Russian government officials. Legislators enacted the law in response to concerns from the U.S. The federal agencies that lead the Federal Acquisition Regulation Council-the Defense Department, General Services Administration and NASA-will publish a final rule Tuesday to the Federal Register outlining how agencies should abide by a provision in the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act restricting the use of Kaspersky products. As of Tuesday, government agencies-civilian and defense-have an official, final rule prohibiting them from using cybersecurity products provided by or using software made by Russia-based Kaspersky Lab.
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