Court decision won’t stop us fighting for a safer world

Today, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit Court dismissed our challenges to the constitutionality of the DHS Directive and the provisions in the FY18 National Defense Authorization Act that ban the use of our products and services by federal agencies and government contractors. We initially questioned the constitutionality of these bans in a federal district court and then appealed the district court’s decision to the DC Circuit Court. That’s the (rather formal) summing up of our battle for justice in the US.

But as the leader of this company, which not by chance is also called Kaspersky, I want to send a personal message to our partners, stakeholders, friends, and supporters. Will this latest decision stop us from fighting for a safer cyberspace for all? Not a chance! The DC Circuit Court’s decision is disappointing, but the events of the past year that culminated in this decision were almost expected, and not just by our company, but by the cybersecurity industry in general. We’re sure that the issues involved in our litigation go far beyond technical aspects of US constitutional law; they include real-world problems concerning everyone: a progression of protectionism and balkanization in a world of understated cyberrivalry and highly sophisticated international cyberthreats.

Managing cybersecurity supply-chain risks is crucial right now. That’s why the industry’s leaders and stakeholders need to work together to develop a global cybersecurity risk management and mitigation strategy that applies to all IT security vendors, regardless of their country of origin. With risk-informed regulation and evidence-based results, we can all promote security, increase transparency, and base decisions on reality, not geopolitical hypotheticals. Imagine that! Instead of fear, uncertainty, and doubt, the industry can proceed with more trust, assurance, and confidence. Because at the end of the day, regardless of any legal decision, we’re still the good guys fighting cybercrime all over the world 24/7.

I constantly travel the world, meeting regulators, partners, and stakeholders. I know that more trust and technical clarity is needed in cybersecurity — and we’re working toward this goal, serving as an industry pioneer. We kicked off our Global Transparency Initiative by installing additional infrastructure to protect customer data and recently opened our first regional Transparency Center in Switzerland. We’re addressing customers’ concerns by ensuring that our own operations are transparent and trustworthy with a respected firm auditing our engineering practices and secure development processes. We constantly aim to be a part of the solution as the cyberthreat landscape evolves. Regardless of whether we decide to pursue further legal action in response to today’s decision from the DC Circuit Court, we’ll remain committed to providing the best cybersecurity solutions for our customers globally and saving the world from cyberthreats. That has been our mission for more than 20 years now, and no hindrance will stop us from fighting for it.