Some federal contractors may not be aware that they face a deadline of October 1 to remove Kaspersky Lab software from their network, or may not realize what it will take to comply. In many cases, they may not even be aware that it came pre-installed on their systems, or that the ban applies to them.
Companies may have attempted to remove Kaspersky but missed some instances because removing any major software that stretches across an enterprise is far more complicated than simply pressing the uninstall button. Security services that work with federal contractors report finding the software still active on networks the company believed to be compliant.
Congress banned Kaspersky software from all government networks – military and civilian – in December, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, which annually sets policy for the military.