US government’s “do not buy” list shuts out Russia, China

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The US government has a growing list of software companies that it will not buy from, according to the Defense Dept.’s acquisitions chief.

Ellen Lord, quoted by Bloomberg, said the so-called “do not buy” list now includes software from Russia and China, because some of the companies “do not operate in a way consistent with what we have for defense standards.”

Lord said that the Defense Dept. worked closely with partners in the intelligence community to identify the source of software and equipment — many of which are shielded through holding companies.

Once a company makes its way onto the list, the government ensures that it does not buy products from those companies. Listed company names were not disclosed.

The list comes amid tensions between Russia, China, and the west over both imports and exports of technology, as Congress and the White House have imposed sanctions on ZTE and Huawei, which lawmakers have long accused of spying for Beijing. Earlier this year, the government began the process of ridding its systems of Kaspersky security software over similar fears that its product was sending data to Russia.

Equally, China too has imposed restrictions in recent year on US networking gear over concerns that the technology could be tapped into by US intelligence agencies.

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