The latest draft of the National Defence Authorisation Act has recommended that the Department of Defence be prohibited from using software platforms from cyber security company Kaspersky Lab.
The draft budget said, in an amendment proposed by Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire, that it "prohibits the DOD from using software platforms developed by Kaspersky Lab due to reports that the Moscow-based company might be vulnerable to Russian government influence."
Cyberscoop reported that this draft had been passed by the relevant sub-committee and was now headed for the Senate.
As iTWire reported citing NBC News, several employees of Kaspersky Lab in the US, were interviewed by the FBI recently in connection with a counter-intelligence probe.
{loadposition sam08}The head of the company, Eugene Kaspersky, has said he has no idea why the firm is targeted, but hinted that it may be "a result of (the) current crisis in relations between Russia and the US".
The US government is in the midst of a review as to whether it should continue using Kaspersky Lab's anti-malware software in its offices.
Unsubstantiated claims have been floating around to the effect that Russia is using the software to spy on the US.
US Defence Intelligence Agency director Vincent Stewart was quoted in May as saying, "we are tracking Kaspersky and their software".
Claims of Russian meddling in the US presidential election have been around since last year. A number of investigations are ongoing, including one by a special prosecutor, Robert Mueller to find out whether there was collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russia.