Kaspersky: 'Now we have to explain the political issues'

Kaspersky Lab says that its operations in Latin America have not been affected by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the fact that the Moscow-based cybersecurity company is considered a risk by the US government.

"Fortunately, in Latin America, we are meeting 100% of our objectives for the year and still growing and bringing in new clients," Claudio Martinelli, head of Kaspersky Latin America, told BNamericas during his visit to Buenos Aires.

Martinelli claims that unlike in Europe, where the war has had a greater impact on Kaspersky's business, the Latin American market seems to be business as usual for the company.

"People who know Kaspersky say: 'Those are political issues, I only care about being protected,'" said Martinelli, who said adds that he's against a war "that benefits no one."

The company, which processes 82% of its data at its datacenter in Zurich, reported revenue of US$752mn in 2021, an increase of 6.5%.

In addition to the Swiss datacenter, Kaspersky has contracts to use the Microsoft and AWS cloud.

"What has changed now is that we have to explain the political issues a little more," Martinelli said, adding that the company maintains corporate clients in the US.

In March, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) blacklisted Kaspersky, adding its name to a list that includes Huawei and ZTE as companies deemed a threat to national security. The US federal government banned the use of Kaspersky software in federal computer systems in 2017 out of concerns about supposed links between the company and the Kremlin. Companies in the US, however, can continue using Kaspersky's services.

In Latin America, the company has several government agencies among its clients. The Brazilian armed forces, for instance, rely on Kaspersky technology.

The company also has some 50,000 business clients in the region.

Martinelli is concerned about what he calls the isolation of cybersecurity forces. "Every time we have moments of crisis and international conflicts, cooperation and collaboration between forces becomes more difficult and this means that criminals can take advantage of these gaps."

Since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, the collaboration between international security forces and private cybersecurity companies has broken down, he added.