In the latest advisory of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the US adds Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Labs, along with China Telecom (Americas) Corp. and China Mobile International USA to the blacklist, citing that these companies are deemed a threat to US national security.

This makes Kaspersky the first Russian firm to be included in the US blacklist. Prior to this, Chinese companies ZTE and Huawei were added to the US blacklist, with the latter affecting its mobile phone business significantly.

FCC commissioner Brendan Carr said the new advisory “will help secure our networks from threats posed by Chinese and Russian state-backed entities seeking to engage in espionage and otherwise harm America’s interests.”

Various US officials said that Kaspersky software could allegedly be used to open American networks, which led to Kaspersky’s flagship anti-virus software to be banned for use by federal networks since 2017. The US did not mention whether the blacklisting is due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine or because of President Joe Biden’s warnings of potential cybercrime attacks by Russia.

In its response, Kaspersky said that they are disappointed with the FCC decision, citing that it was “made on political grounds”, and that the move “is a response to the geopolitical climate rather than a comprehensive evaluation of the integrity of Kaspersky’s products and services.”

The Chinese Embassy also responded to the decision as well, stating that the FCC “abused state power and maliciously attacked Chinese telecom operators again without factual basis.”

Both China Telecom (Americas) Corp. and China Mobile International USA have yet to respond to the decision.