Russia US tension: Pentagon threatens to ban kaspersky software.

Russia US tension is again on the rise with political controversy in the U.S. over computer hacking and alleged Kremlin meddling in the 2016 presidential elections. Now the Senate Armed Services Committee has proposed banning the Pentagon “from using software platforms developed by Kaspersky Lab due to reports that the Moscow-based company might be vulnerable to Russian government influence. But Kaspersky Lab said it doesn’t cooperate with any government in cyber-espionage, the Interfax news service reported Thursday.

With the rising Russia US tension in the past weeks, FBI agents interviewed at least a dozen employees of Kaspersky Lab in the U.S. this week as part of a counterintelligence probe, according to NBC News, which reported that the company has “long been of interest” to the authorities. There’s no indication the interviews were linked to a U.S. investigation into alleged Russian interference in the elections, the broadcaster reported.

But in a separate interview on Friday , Minister NikolayNikiforov served notice on that the Russian government would retaliate against U.S. companies if Congress bans the Pentagon from using controversial cyber-security software from Kaspersky Lab.