Vermont CIO orders purge of Kaspersky and ZTE products

StateScoop: Vermont Chief Information Officer John Quinn instructed the entire state government to determine if it uses any hardware or software made by certain companies believed to have ties to the Russian and Chinese governments, and make plans to phase them out if they’re found.

In a memorandum sent Wednesday to Vermont’s executive-branch agencies, Quinn ordered the removal of products sold by Kaspersky Lab, a cybersecurity software firm suspected by U.S. officials of having ties to the Kremlin, and devices manufactured by Chinese firms including Huawei and ZTE, which the United States has accused of conducting espionage on behalf of Beijing.

Read article