Avast, the Cybersecurity firm from Czech, has announced that it will pull out its company operations in Russia and will stop the sale and marketing of its products in Russia and Belarus, with immediate effect.
It is unclear whether the security firm has pulled down the support of its products operating in the Putin-led nation as it can lead to a digital disaster, giving access to hackers and state-funded actors across the globe.
As of now, we do not know the exact number of customers using Avast services. But is estimated that a million of them could fall prey to cybercriminals if at all the company winds off its security support operations forever.
Meanwhile, the company has also announced that it will actively work in protecting and sustaining its employees working in the region. And will see that the decision doesn’t affect their safety and lives.
Those who have been furloughed will get full salaries until further notice. And if they are aided in high-risk areas, a temporary relocation for them is being planned, under the supervision of senior management.
Coming to the support offered to Ukraine, Avast has already announced that it will off premium support to all its users in the said region for free, till the situation improves or subsides and all their licenses will be renewed on an automated note.
A couple of weeks ago, Microsoft has announced the suspension of sales and services of its products in the Russian federation. However, it did not disclose its mindset on the support given to the products used in the Putin-led nation.
Unconfirmed sources report that America could urge the Windows giant soon to withdraw support to the operating systems operating across Russia. And the move could prove fatal, as most of the government organizations and some large companies still rely on the American firm for their computing software and hardware needs.
