WASHINGTON, June 20 (Reuters) - The Biden administration

on Thursday announced plans to bar the sale of antivirus

software made by Russia's Kaspersky Lab in the United States,

with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo saying that Russia's

influence over the company poses a significant security risk.

The software's privileged access to a computer's systems

could allow it to steal sensitive information from American

computers or install malware and withhold critical updates,

enhancing the threat, a source said, noting that Kaspersky's

customers include critical infrastructure providers and state

and local governments.

"Russia has shown it has the capacity and ... the intent

to exploit Russian companies like Kaspersky to collect and

weaponize the personal information of Americans and that is why

we are compelled to take the action that we are taking today,"

Raimondo said on a briefing call with reporters.

Kaspersky said it believed the U.S. decision was based

on "the present geopolitical climate and theoretical concerns,

rather than on a comprehensive evaluation of the integrity of

Kaspersky's products and services."

In an emailed statement, Kaspersky added that its

activities did not threaten U.S. national security and that it

will pursue legal options to preserve its operations.

The Russian Embassy did not respond to requests for comment.

Previously, Kaspersky has said that it is a privately managed

company with no ties to the Russian government.

The sweeping new rule, using broad powers created by the

administration of former President Donald Trump, will be coupled

with another move to add three units of the company to a trade

restriction list, Raimondo said, dealing a blow to Kaspersky's

reputation that could hammer its overseas sales.

The plan to add the cybersecurity company to the entity

list, which effectively bars a company's U.S. suppliers from

selling to it, and the timing and details of the software sales

prohibition were first reported by Reuters.

The moves show the Biden administration is trying to stamp

out any risks of Russian cyberattacks stemming from Kaspersky

software and keep squeezing Moscow as its war effort in Ukraine

has regained momentum and the United States has run low on fresh

sanctions it can impose on Russia.

It also shows the administration is harnessing a powerful

new authority that allows it to ban or restrict transactions

between U.S. firms and internet, telecom and tech companies from

"foreign adversary" nations like Russia and China.

"We would never give an adversarial nation the keys to our

networks or devices, so it's crazy to think that we would

continue to allow Russian software with the deepest possible

device access to be sold to Americans," said Democratic Senator

Mark Warner, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

The new restrictions on inbound sales of Kaspersky software,

which will also bar downloads of software updates, resales and

licensing of the product, kick in on Sept. 29, 100 days after

publication, to give businesses time to find alternatives. New

U.S. business for Kaspersky will be blocked 30 days after the

restrictions are announced.

Sales of white-labeled products - that integrate Kaspersky

into software sold under a different brand name - will also be

barred, the source said, adding that the Commerce Department

will notify companies before taking enforcement action against

them.

The Commerce Department will also entity list two Russian

and one UK-based unit of Kaspersky for allegedly cooperating

with Russian military intelligence to support Moscow's cyber

intelligence goals.

Kaspersky's Russian business is already subject to sweeping

U.S. export restrictions over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. But

its UK-based unit will now be effectively barred from receiving

goods from American suppliers.

GROWING PRESSURE

Kaspersky has long been in regulators' crosshairs. In 2017,

the Department of Homeland Security banned its flagship

antivirus product from federal networks, alleging ties to

Russian intelligence and noting Russian law lets intelligence

agencies compel assistance from Kaspersky and intercept

communications using Russian networks.

Media reports at the time alleged Kaspersky Lab was involved

in taking hacking tools from a National Security Agency employee

that ended up in the hands of the Russian government. Kaspersky

responded by saying it had stumbled upon the code but said no

third parties saw it.

Pressure on the company's U.S. business grew after Moscow's

move against Kyiv. The U.S. government privately warned some

American companies the day after Russia invaded Ukraine in

February 2022 that Moscow could manipulate software designed by

Kaspersky to cause harm, Reuters reported.

The war also prompted the Commerce Department to ramp up a

national security probe into the software, first reported by

Reuters, that resulted in Thursday's action.

Under the new rules, sellers and resellers that violate the

restrictions will face fines from the Commerce Department, the

source added. If someone willfully violates the prohibition, the

Justice Department can bring a criminal case. Software users

will not face legal penalties but will be strongly encouraged to

stop using it.

Kaspersky, which has a British holding company and

operations in Massachusetts, said in a corporate profile that it

generated revenue of $752 million in 2022 from more than 220,000

corporate clients in some 200 countries. Its website lists

Italian vehicle maker Piaggio, Volkswagen's

retail division in Spain and the Qatar Olympic Committee among

its customers.