Australia bans government use of Kaspersky software over Russian espionage concerns

Australia has banned Kaspersky Lab software from government systems, ordering removal by April due to concerns over foreign interference, espionage, and data exposure, with limited exemptions for national security or regulatory functions; Kaspersky disputes the move as politically motivated, while similar restrictions and warnings have been issued by the U.S., U.K., Canada, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands, and the U.S. has additionally imposed a full ban and sanctioned company executives.