USA Banned Government Agencies from Using Acronis Software, Developed by Natives of Russia
The US government has ordered all civilian federal agencies to completely abandon the use of Acronis software by the end of January 2027. The corresponding order from the US Department of Homeland Security was published on October 30, writes The Moscow Times.
Acronis, headquartered in Switzerland, develops software for data protection and recovery, backup, and secure file sharing. The company was founded in the early 2000s by graduates of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. According to sources from Nextgov/FCW, American authorities have been checking it for possible ties to Russia and national security threats for almost ten years, since the first Donald Trump administration.
Both civilian and defense structures of the USA used Acronis software. Among them were the Pentagon's Defense Information Systems Agency, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. During inspections, American authorities, in particular, were finding out whether the company's employees in Russia continued to participate in the development of its products.
Acronis emerged in 2001 as a division of SWsoft, a company founded by graduates of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT). Among them was Sergey Belousov, who left Russia in 1993 and later obtained Singaporean citizenship. American authorities previously suspected him of possible involvement in transferring classified information to Russian state structures.
According to CNews, Belousov's company historically relied heavily on Russian developers, a significant portion of whom worked in Russia for a long time. In addition, Acronis was for a long time one of the key residents of the MIPT technopark.
The company received large government contracts, including for Pentagon data backup. The Washington Post wrote about this in 2022. In 2021, Belousov himself changed his name to Serg Bell. After the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine, he condemned the Russian invasion.
At the same time, the Acronis-related company Acronis Infoprotection, now called "Cyberprotect," adapted and resold Acronis cybersecurity products to Russian state structures.
As Nextgov notes, as early as July 2025, the US banned the use of Acronis software in the networks of the American intelligence community, which unites 17 agencies, including the FBI and CIA. Later, a similar restriction was extended to the US Department of Defense.
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