Is Kaspersky Safe in 2026? Can Kaspersky Be Trusted?
By NorwegianSpark Editorial · Published October 11, 2026 — written with AI assistance and reviewed by the NorwegianSpark SA editorial team.
"Is Kaspersky safe?" is really two questions, and they have different answers. On the first, whether it stops malware, the independent evidence is as strong as it gets: Kaspersky Premium topped AV-Comparatives' February to May 2026 real-world test at 99.8% and scored full marks in AV-TEST's May to June 2026 round. On the second, whether you should trust a security company subject to Russian jurisdiction with deep access to your computer, two Western governments have answered no for their own purposes. The United States banned Kaspersky sales and updates from 2024, and Germany's federal cyber-security agency, the BSI, has warned against using Kaspersky antivirus since March 2022.
Neither answer cancels the other. A perfect lab score does not address the jurisdiction concern, and the jurisdiction concern is not a finding about detection quality. This article sets out what each source actually says, so you can weigh them for your own situation.
| Question | What the evidence shows | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Does it stop malware? | 99.8% in AV-Comparatives' Feb to May 2026 real-world test; 6/6/6 at AV-TEST, May to June 2026 | The two labs' own results pages |
| Can it still be bought in the US? | No. New agreements banned from 20 July 2024; updates banned from 29 September 2024 | US Federal Register final determination |
| What does Germany say? | BSI recommends replacing Kaspersky antivirus with alternatives; it is a warning, not a ban | BSI press release and FAQ |
| Where is threat data processed? | Suspicious files from European users are processed in Zurich, according to Kaspersky | Kaspersky's own data-protection pages |
Is Kaspersky safe? What the independent labs measured
AV-Comparatives, Real-World Protection Test, February to May 2026. Twenty home security products faced 400 live test cases. Kaspersky Premium blocked 399 and was compromised once, a 99.8% protection rate and the highest in the test, with 3 false positives. It was one of seven products to receive the ADVANCED+ award. For context, Bitdefender Total Security, second, blocked 398 for 99.5%.
AV-TEST, Windows 11, May to June 2026. Kaspersky Premium 21.24 scored 6.0 out of 6.0 for protection, 6.0 for performance and 6.0 for usability, 18 points in total. AV-TEST states that it issues its TOP PRODUCT award at 17.5 points or higher.
Two cautions apply to any lab result. Each round is a snapshot and positions move between rounds, so judge a product on a run of tests rather than one. And labs measure what a product does with the samples in front of it. They cannot measure what a vendor might be instructed to do in future, which is precisely the concern raised in the next section. On detection alone, Kaspersky is among the best products tested in 2026.
Can Kaspersky be trusted? What governments have decided
The United States. On 24 June 2024 the US Federal Register published the Commerce Department's Final Determination in Case No. ICTS-2021-002, Kaspersky Lab, Inc. It concluded that Kaspersky's provision of its products in the US "poses undue and unacceptable risks to U.S. national security and to the security and safety of U.S. persons". Among its stated reasons: "Kaspersky is subject to the jurisdiction or direction of the Russian government", and "Russian laws compel companies subject to Russian jurisdiction to cooperate with Russian intelligence". It also recorded that the mitigation measures it considered fell short: "None of the measures (either combined or in the aggregate) was assessed to be completely effective".
The determination barred Kaspersky from entering new agreements with US persons from 20 July 2024, and from 29 September 2024 from carrying on those transactions in the US or with US persons, including "providing any anti-virus signature updates and codebase updates". Kaspersky's own US support page confirms the consequences: the ability to buy, renew and download products from its US store "is suspended", and while "All licenses will keep functioning until their original expiration date", Kaspersky is "prohibited from providing product updates to US customers". In practice, Kaspersky no longer sells to US consumers.
Germany. On 15 March 2022 the BSI, Germany's Federal Office for Information Security, issued a formal warning under section 7 of the BSI Act and recommended replacing applications from Kaspersky's antivirus portfolio with alternative products. Its reasoning was specific to how antivirus works: such software has extensive system privileges and keeps a permanent, encrypted connection to the manufacturer's servers that outsiders cannot inspect. The BSI said a Russian manufacturer could be forced against its will to attack target systems, or be misused as a tool for attacks against its own customers.
Three details are easy to miss. First, it is a warning, not a ban: the BSI's FAQ notes that some countries have banned Kaspersky antivirus in government use, but that this is currently not the case in Germany. Second, it was challenged and survived: on 28 April 2022 the Higher Administrative Court of North Rhine-Westphalia rejected the complaint of Kaspersky's German subsidiary (case 4 B 473/22). That was an urgent interim procedure, and the court stated its decision cannot be appealed. Third, the warning provision has since moved: the BSI's FAQ says it is now governed by section 13 of the BSI Act, following the NIS-2 implementation law that took effect on 6 December 2025.
What both decisions rest on. Neither the US determination nor the BSI warning is framed as a verdict on how well the software detects malware. Both are about jurisdiction: what a company subject to Russian law could be compelled to do with software that already has deep access to its customers' computers. That is why a lab score, however good, does not settle them.
This article does not cover national guidance in Denmark, Sweden, Norway or Finland. If you work in government, defence or critical infrastructure anywhere, your employer's and your national authority's current guidance decides this for you.
Where is Kaspersky's data processed?
Kaspersky's main answer to the trust question is its Global Transparency Initiative. In a press release dated 17 November 2020, it said threat-related data from users in Europe, the United States and Canada, including "suspicious or previously unknown malicious files" sent to the Kaspersky Security Network for automated analysis, is now processed in two data centres in Zurich, Switzerland. The same release cites a SOC 2 audit by a Big Four firm, ISO 27001 certification for its data services, and transparency centres where customers and partners can review source code.
Its current data-protection page adds detail that cuts both ways. Malicious and suspicious files voluntarily shared by users in Europe are processed in Zurich. But the page also describes its data infrastructure as spread across several countries, giving "Switzerland, Germany, Russia, Brazil, Singapore" as examples, and states that its ISO 27001 certification covers data services in "Zurich, Frankfurt, Moscow, and Beijing".
Two points to keep in mind. These are Kaspersky's own statements about its own systems. And the US determination itself records that threat data from North American users is processed and stored on Swiss servers, and still reached its conclusion. Data location tells you where files sit; it does not change which government has authority over the company.
So, is Kaspersky safe for you?
- If you work in or with the public sector or critical infrastructure, follow your employer's and your national authority's guidance. This is not a private judgement.
- If you live in the United States, the question is settled for you: Kaspersky cannot sell to you or update your software.
- If you are a home user elsewhere, the detection evidence is excellent and the open question is trust in a company under Russian jurisdiction. Reasonable people land on both sides of that, and either choice is defensible if you have made it knowingly.
- If you decide to switch, do not uninstall first. The BSI's own advice is that existing protection should not be removed until an alternative is in place. Install the replacement, or turn on your operating system's built-in protection, then remove Kaspersky.
If you would rather choose something else, the alternatives are compared in our best antivirus guide and the method for comparing them is in the antivirus buying guide. The wider question of how jurisdiction affects any security vendor is covered in regional security suites and trust.
Buying Kaspersky in the Nordic countries
If you have weighed the above and want Kaspersky, these links go to Kaspersky's own store for each Nordic country. They are intended for residents of that country; if you live anywhere else, they are not for you. Plans and prices are shown on each store and change over time, so we do not quote them here.
- Denmark: Kaspersky's Danish store, kaspersky.dk
- Sweden: Kaspersky's Swedish store, kaspersky.se
- Norway: Kaspersky's Norwegian store, no.kaspersky.com
- Finland: Kaspersky's Finnish store, kaspersky.fi
These are affiliate links: if you buy through them, CyberTechVault earns a commission at no extra cost to you. That relationship did not change anything above, and it is why the US ban and the BSI warning are set out in full before the links rather than after them. This is general guidance, not security advice for a specific threat model.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Kaspersky safe at detecting malware in 2026?
Can Kaspersky be trusted, given the US ban and the German warning?
Is Kaspersky banned in Germany or the Nordic countries?
Affiliate disclosure
This article contains affiliate links. If you purchase through them, CyberTechVault earns a commission at no extra cost to you. Our assessments are based on vendors' published documentation, independent lab results and security disclosures — not on hands-on testing by us. Affiliate relationships never decide what we recommend.
Full disclosure: /affiliate-disclosure.
Sources
Factual claims above were checked against these primary sources. Verify directly on the source for anything time-sensitive before relying on it.
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