The chairman of a House science panel informed the Department of Homeland Security he may issue a subpoena for documents related to the department’s Kaspersky Lab software ban if officials skip another deadline.
House Science, Space, and Technology Committee (SSTC) Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) sent a letter Thursday to DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen reiterating his request to receive all information on the department’s binding operational directive for federal agencies to remove all Kaspersky products from their systems.
The directive was first issued in September and Lamar’s committee requested DHS hand over all relevant documents in December (Defense Daily, Dec. 6), after the date when agencies were supposed to have completed the removal of Kaspersky products from their systems.
DHS officials missed the Dec. 19 deadline and provided partial information, much of which was already publicly available, three weeks later on Jan. 8.
“Given the serious nature of these concerns related to the Committee’s broader goal of uncovering all risks associated with Kaspersky, the Committee expects a full and complete response from the Department, including the requested briefing and production of the requested documents and communications, so that the Committee can fulfill its oversight responsibilities,” Lamar wrote in his letter.
DHS issued the ban on the Moscow-based company’s products following concerns that its anti-virus software could allow for the collection of sensitive government information, which could then be shared with Russian intelligence officials under the country’s communications laws.
Lamar is now giving DHS until Feb. 8 to provide all documents related to the directive.
“If the Department does not provide all of the requested materials, the Committee will consider use of the compulsory process to obtain the information,” Lamar wrote.
DHS officials claimed in January that pending litigation prevented them from handing over documents, which Lamar cited as insufficient reason for declining to fully comply with the request.
Kaspersky field an appeal in federal court to the DHS ban in December asserting a lack of due process (Defense Daily, Dec. 18).
The SSTC Committee’s requested documents include a list of agencies that have identified Kaspersky on their systems or haven’t responded to DHS yet, as well as communications on the Office of Management and Budget’s role in ensuring compliance with the directive. Federal agencies had until December to remove all Kaspersky software from their systems.