Almost half of US organizations still using Kaspersky, researchers claim

Almost half (40%) of US organizations are still using Kaspersky software despite a ban enacted in the summer, new research from Bitsight has revealed.

Though the ban went into effect months ago, active use of Kaspersky products remains high, with more than 1,000 US organizations observed to be connecting to Kaspersky servers post-ban.

Bitsight said only 58% of US organizations observed using Kaspersky products appear to have eliminated their usage of the cybersecurity platform.

Strikingly, given this ban came from the governmental level, Bitsight’s research revealed 19 government agencies in the US were observed to be communicating with Kaspersky update servers as of November 2024.

Bitsight said its research is based on observing connections and communications between global IP addresses associated with specific organizations and Kaspersky update servers.

The firm acknowledged its research may have also captured traffic being used to perform security research or intelligence collection.

Though the US introduced the ban, it has not seen as restrictive a move as in other countries. According to Bitsight’s analysis, the US is the country with the largest number of organizations using Kaspersky.

By comparison, global usage of Kaspersky has seen a dramatic decrease in organizations operating in countries that do not have formal bans on Kaspersky technology.

Between April and November 2024, the number of global organizations communicating with Kaspersky dropped from 22,000 firms and 7 million unique IP addresses to 8,000 firms and 2 million unique IP addresses.

Inside the Kasperky ban

The US government originally banned Kaspersky based on supposed links to the Russian government. Lawmakers claimed use of the software could be a risk to national security as it could be used to steal corporate data or install malware.

Fear of Kaspersky had been long-running before the ban, with tensions surging after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the US, UK, and Germany all issuing warnings about the software.

Kaspersky has not kept quiet. A statement from Kaspersky following the ban insisted that allegations of ties to the Russian government are false, and that the ban decision is politically motivated.

“Kaspersky believes that the Department of Commerce made its decision based on the present geopolitical climate and theoretical concerns, rather than on a comprehensive evaluation of the integrity of Kaspersky’s products and services,” the firm said.

About a month after news of the ban emerged, it announced that it would be shutting down its operations in the US.