Was Kaspersky a Victim of 'Fake News'?

Kaspersky Lab filed a court challenge this week, asking a judge to  rescind the government's decision to ban Kaspersky anti-virus from federal computers.

It also revealed, for the first time, just how significant the government ban has been on the company. 

Kaspersky a victim of fake news?

One of the most interesting points raised in court documents posted by NextGov is Kaspersky's argument that the Department of Homeland Security based the ban on the equivalent of fake news:

"As a remarkable and unprecedented substitute for the agency fact-finding process, DHS’s principal and overwhelming source of 'evidence' is uncorroborated and sometimes anonymously sourced news reports—including, among others, the Rachel Maddow Show, Fox News, Wired Magazine, Bloomberg News, and Forbes."

Kaspersky earnings take major hit

The documents also detail the ways the government's decision has torpedoed business at Kaspersky Lab:

• B2B sales dropped 33% in Q3 and 45% in Q4 vs. the prior year
• U.S. retail sales dropped 37% and 61% during Q3 and Q4, respectively
• It says it has been forced to accept returns from people who cite the government's decision: "Net loss attributable to product returns to Kaspersky Lab, Inc. from U.S. customers for the period September-December 2017 increased nearly 2300% relative to the same period in 2016"

Kaspersky losing U.S. employees, laying others off

The company says its U.S. workforce has dropped by 10% in the last few months: "This is largely attributable to: involuntary departures from the company caused by a fall in staff morale due to the attacks on the reputation and integrity of the company and its products... and layoffs necessitated by falling revenues."

Was the company a victim of fake news? Did the government deprive Kaspersky of a legitimate chance to respond to government suspicions before all this damage was done?

At least some of those questions will be decided by a judge. We'll let you know what happens.