FCC Moves to Bar Marketing of Certain Communications Equipment Tied to Kaspersky
The Federal Communications Commission has moved to bar the continued importation and marketing of certain communications equipment that had previously been authorized but was later placed on the agency’s Covered List, citing risks to national security and public safety.
The FCC issued the action, DA 26-635, on June 26, 2026. It addresses equipment added to the Covered List in 2024 or earlier and focuses on whether products that had already received authorization should continue to enter the United States market.
The action specifically discusses equipment incorporating cybersecurity or antivirus products from Kaspersky Lab. The FCC said equipment containing those products presents an unacceptable risk to U.S. national security or to the security and safety of people in the United States.
What the FCC action covers
The Covered List is part of the FCC’s framework for identifying communications equipment and services that raise national-security or public-safety concerns. DA 26-635 addresses a category of equipment that was previously authorized but later added to that list.
That distinction matters. The action is not described as a blanket order declaring that every device associated with Kaspersky is immediately disabled or removed from service. Instead, it concerns continued importation and marketing of specified equipment that had already received authorization before being added to the Covered List.
The practical question is whether companies can continue bringing the affected equipment into the United States or promoting it for use in communications networks. The FCC’s stated concern is that allowing such products to remain in the supply chain could expose U.S. communications infrastructure or users to unacceptable security risks.
The FCC action identifies the broad category of equipment involved, but it does not provide a complete public inventory of every affected model or establish the number of U.S. devices or networks that could be involved. Those details are important for manufacturers, distributors, network operators and customers trying to determine whether a particular product is covered.
Why the agency says it matters
The decision is part of broader FCC efforts focused on communications-network cybersecurity and supply-chain security. Those efforts address the risk that vulnerabilities in hardware, software or equipment suppliers could affect services that depend on reliable communications.
A separate FCC communications on cybersecurity risks to next-generation 911 and communications networks describes how software failures and cybersecurity incidents can contribute to outages across multiple states. It also points to mitigation measures such as network monitoring, vulnerability assessments, backup systems and response plans.
Those recommendations provide context for the FCC’s concern with equipment used in communications systems. A security problem involving a product or supplier can have consequences beyond an individual device if the equipment is integrated into a larger network. For emergency communications and other critical services, disruptions can affect the ability of people and organizations to connect when reliability is essential.
The agency’s action therefore reaches beyond a product-labeling issue. It reflects a policy judgment that some equipment already authorized for the U.S. market should not continue to be imported or marketed after being identified as presenting national-security concerns.
What happens next
DA 26-635 establishes the FCC’s action on the continued importation and marketing of the covered equipment. Companies that manufacture, distribute or deploy communications equipment will need to determine how the action applies to their products and supply chains.
The public action does not, by itself, provide a complete list of affected models, the number of deployed devices or every compliance date. It also does not establish that all Kaspersky-related equipment has been taken out of service. The immediate significance is the FCC’s decision to address continued market access for equipment that had been authorized before appearing on the Covered List.
For network operators and public-safety authorities, the broader FCC cybersecurity guidance emphasizes preparedness: monitoring systems, assessing vulnerabilities, maintaining backups and having response plans. Those steps are presented as ways to reduce the effects of software failures, cyber incidents and other disruptions affecting communications networks.
The FCC’s action places supply-chain security and the treatment of previously authorized equipment at the center of that work. Its stated goal is to prevent communications products the agency considers an unacceptable national-security or public-safety risk from continuing to enter or circulate in the U.S. market.
Sources
- DA 26-635, Federal Communications Commission
- FCC-IRC2606-03, Federal Communications Commission
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