Barclays drops Kaspersky as ‘security precaution’

Barclays has stopped offering free anti-virus software from Russian firm Kaspersky to new banking customers, following a warning from the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) that using it could “harm national security”. The NCSC has contacted all government departments warning that Russian-based security software could be exploited by the Kremlin and should not be used in systems containing information that could harm national security if it was accessed.