U.S. Senators Seek Military ban on Kaspersky Lab Products Amid FBI Probe

U.S. senators sought on Wednesday to ban Moscow-based cyber security firm Kaspersky Lab's products from use by the military because of fears the company is vulnerable to "Russian government influence," a day after the FBI interviewed several of its U.S. employees as part of a probe into its operations.

Federal Bureau of Investigation agents visited the homes of Kaspersky employees late on Tuesday in multiple U.S. cities, although no search warrants were served, according to two sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the FBI probe.

Kaspersky Lab confirmed in a statement on Wednesday that FBI agents have had "brief interactions" with some of its U.S. employees, discussions that the company described as "due diligence" chats. The FBI declined to comment.

The interviews were followed by the release of a defense spending policy bill passed by the Senate Armed Services Committee, which would prohibit the U.S. Defense Department from using Kaspersky software because the company "might be vulnerable to Russian government influence," according to a summary of the legislation.

Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, who amended the spending bill to include the Kaspersky language, said in a statement that "ties between Kaspersky Lab and the Kremlin are very alarming."