BestBuy Co pulls Kaspersky Lab’s cyber security products from shelves

Best Buy Co, the No1 US electronics retailer, is pulling Kaspersky Lab's cyber security products from its shelves and website, as concerns mount that the Moscow-based firm may be vulnerable to Russian government influence.

Best Buy found that there were "too many unanswered questions" and therefore decided to discontinue selling the antivirus products, according to US newspaper StarTribune, which first reported the retailer's decision, citing a source familiar with the matter.

The report was confirmed by a Best Buy spokeswoman who declined to provide further details.

A US Congressional panel had asked government agencies to share documents on the cyber security firm, saying its products could be used for ''nefarious activities against the United States'', Reuters reported in July.

In July, the US administration had removed Kaspersky from its lists of approved vendors used by government agencies to acquire technology equipment.

Kaspersky, which denied ties with any government, said yesterday that the companies had suspended their ties.

Meanwhile, there was no word on the questions, or on why Kaspersky's offer to share its source code was not enough to prove absence of a backdoor. The company has also not spoken about the move beyond confirming the report.  Kaspersky tweeted that its products are available through other retailers and said that while its relationship with Best Buy is suspended, it "may be re-evaluated in the future."