China's procurement agency has told government departments to stop buying antivirus software from Symantec and Kaspersky Lab because of security concerns, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. The exclusion follows a notice from the Public Security Ministry in June that Symantec software had security vulnerabilities, the report said. The procurement agency removed the companies’ antivirus programs from its list of approved software, which includes products offered by domestic companies including Qihoo 360 Technology and Kingsoft.
According to Kaspersky Lab, China "temporarily rescinded its endorsements of all foreign security providers". The restriction applies only to central-government institutions and not regional governments or large enterprises, it said. Kaspersky said it's in talks with Chinese authorities about the matter but could not provide further details.
The Public Security Ministry notice said Symantec’s Data Loss Prevention software contained high-risk security loopholes including backdoors that could allow outside access, one source told Bloomberg. Symantec denied this, saying it "does not put hidden functionality or back doors into any of its technologies -– not for the NSA or any other government entities".
