Kaspersky US Clients Migrate to Pango’s UltraAV After Ban

U.S. customers of blacklisted Russian cybersecurity antivirus provider Kaspersky who didn’t already swap out providers now know where they’ll be getting endpoint protection going forward.

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The Moscow-based firm’s remaining 1 million U.S. antivirus prospects can be moved to UltraAV, the antivirus product of Boston-based Pango Group, which separated Tuesday from on-line security vendor Aura. The migration is available in response to a Division of Commerce ban on Kaspersky gross sales in the US, which might have stopped software program updates for American prospects by the top of September (see: Biden Administration Bans Kaspersky Antivirus Software).

“Dealing with the latest U.S. restrictions forcing Kaspersky to restrict safety performance of its merchandise, the corporate has organized an answer,” Kaspersky informed Data Safety Media Group in an emailed assertion. “Whereas U.S. individuals have been left with one much less selection in defending themselves towards on-line threats, we’re dedicated to making sure that they proceed to be served by a world class supplier.”

UltraAV presents options together with a VPN, password supervisor and identification theft safety along with antivirus protection, in response to Kaspersky. Monetary phrases of the transaction weren’t disclosed, stated Axios, which first reported the deal.

“These issues that they do want to concentrate on and have to know, we’ll lay out for them in a collection of e-mail communications after which we even have our buyer help group ramped up and able to help,” Pango President and Chief Working Officer Neill Feather informed Axios. A Pango spokesperson confirmed the veracity of the Axios report back to ISMG.

How UltraAV’s Pricing, Options Examine With Kaspersky

UltraAV has a number of options that Kaspersky’s antivirus product lacks, comparable to real-time authentication alerts, high-risk transaction monitoring and $1 million identification theft insurance coverage, which limits the chance of establish fraud. The product lacks Kaspersky’s capabilities for webcam and on-line fee safety, which thwart entry to customers’ webcams and forestall bank card particulars from being accessed.

By mid-September, Home windows customers will routinely transition from Kaspersky to UltraAV with none motion wanted by the consumer, a Pango spokesperson informed ISMG. Mac and Android customers will obtain an e-mail containing a setup hyperlink, the place they will comply with onboarding steps to switch consumer subscription information. There is not any change in value for patrons, who will maintain their current pricing plans tied to Kaspersky.

Clients who repurchase UltraAV with all of the options offered of their Kaspersky account can pay $47.88 for his or her first 12 months after which renew on the full value of $149.99, according to an FAQ posted to the UltraAV web site. Kaspersky stopped billing month-to-month and annual prospects within the U.S. in June 2024, and billing with UltraAV will resume for these prospects in October 2024.

How We Acquired Right here

The U.S. authorities’s determination to halt Kaspersky’s in-country operations was pushed by considerations about potential Russian authorities entry to consumer information, an allegation the corporate has strongly denied. Kaspersky was formally banned from U.S. federal authorities networks in 2017, and extra not too long ago, the Biden administration prolonged the ban to incorporate all U.S. industrial gross sales, citing nationwide safety dangers.

A 12 months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Kaspersky executives got here beneath monetary sanctions, additional curbing the corporate’s means to function within the U.S. and highlighting fears of misuse by Russian state actors. After the ban on industrial software program gross sales, Kaspersky introduced plans to close down its U.S. enterprise and laid off the less than 50 worker nonetheless remaining within the nation (see: Kaspersky to Shut US Business, Lay Off Remaining 50 Workers).

Kaspersky’s presence within the U.S. has shrunk over the past a number of years resulting from authorities restrictions and lowering buyer belief. By 2022, solely 4% of U.S. paid antivirus customers have been choosing Kaspersky, nicely behind rivals comparable to Norton, McAfee and Malwarebytes, in response to Safety.org. With the U.S. ban in place, Kaspersky plans to concentrate on progress areas comparable to Russia, Central Asia and Latin America.