Raphael Satter, David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) added Russia’s AO Kasparsky Lab and China Telecom (NYSE.) (Americas) Corp to their list of communication equipment and services deemed to be a threat to U.S. security.

The FCC is required by law to update and publish a list of communication equipment and services that present an unacceptable threat to the national security of the United States or to the safety and security of U.S. citizens. Five Chinese firms were first to be included on the “covered” list of the U.S. telecom regulator last year.

“Today’s action is the latest in the FCC’s ongoing efforts, as part of the greater whole-of-government approach, to strengthen America’s communications networks against national security threats,” FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel stated that the FCC will continue to maintain the updated list, as additional communications equipment and services are able to meet the legal criteria.

The designation means money from the FCC’s $8 billion annual Universal Service Fund (USF) may no longer be used to purchase or maintain products from any of the companies. USF funds support rural and low-income consumers in high-cost, high-quality areas of telecommunications. They also help to fund government facilities, such as libraries and schools.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in April, Kaspersky, a Moscow-based antivirus company has come under increased pressure. Kaspersky has been under increasing pressure since Russian invasion of Ukraine last month. American officials have long issued warnings regarding Kaspersky. The United States also officially removed Kaspersky’s main antivirus product from their federal networks in 2017. Recent warnings from European cyber agencies have been issued in similar fashion.

Kaspersky had begun to cut ties with private firms as well. Kaspersky posted a tweet to Twitter earlier Friday (NYSE:) stating that HackerOne, a popular bug bounty program for hackers who find software bugs and pays them money, had removed Kaspersky from the platform.

FCC declared that the U.S. approval for China Telecom Americas (Americas) was canceled in October. It stated it is “susceptible to exploitation, influence, and control by China’s government.” Chinese Telecom was unable to convince a U.S. court that the decision should be reversed.

The FCC rejected China Mobile’s offer to supply U.S. telecom services in 2019, citing national security threats.

The FCC voted earlier this month 4-0 to cancel the authorization of Chinese telecom Pacific Networks, and its subsidiary ComNet, to offer U.S. Telecommunications Services.

While the Chinese Embassy in Washington didn’t immediately respond to Friday’s comment, earlier this month, the Chinese commerce ministry criticized FCC actions. It stated that China would take measures to ensure the legal rights of its businesses.

FCC members voted in January to cancel a similar authorization that China Unicom (NYSE) had granted to it to use the United States to conduct business. The FCC did so citing national security issues.

Kapersky and Chinese telecom firms did not respond immediately to our requests for comment.

The FCC identified security risks as Huawei Technologies Co., ZTE Corp. (HK.), Hytera Communications Corp., Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co., Dahua Technology Co.