Kaspersky Labs sues Trump government over banning its software

Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Labs has sued US Department of Homeland Securities (DHS)arguing that the American government has deprived it of due process rights by banning its software from US government agencies. The company alleged that because the agency essentially blacklisted Kaspersky in September over its alleged links to the Russian government, it has unduly suffered a loss.

The lawsuit is filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. Kaspersky's suit cites the Administrative Procedure Act, which allows individuals to sue the federal government if it decides a contract award without adequate evidence. “The APA provides a framework by which those theories can be pursued, but the company will have to substantiate them,” Ronald Levin, a professor at Washington University Law told BuzzFeed News.

Eugene Kaspersky, founder, Kaspersky Labs said, "DHS has harmed Kaspersky Lab's reputation and its commercial operations without any evidence of wrongdoing by the company."He further added, "Regardless of the DHS decision, we will continue to do what really matters; make the world safer from cybercrime."

Kaspersky states that the allegations against the firm were "arbitrary and capricious and not based on substantial evidence," whilst also violating its Fifth Amendment right to due process, the company wrote. Kaspersky wants the ban declared "invalid."

Kaspersky wants the court to overturn the ban and also declare that the Russian company's products do not pose a security threat to the US government computers.