Internet users have been warned about a popular anti-virus program over fears that it could be exploited by Russia to spy or launch cyber attacks.
Security officials are concerned that Russian officials may force Moscow-based Kaspersky to engage in illicit activity amid Russia's war on Ukraine.
Kaspersky has more than 400 million users, and the German cybersecurity authority has encouraged millions of users to search for an alternative product due to the "high risk" of attack in light of threats to Western countries.
The Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) said that "a Russian IT factory can carry out offensive operations itself, force it to attack targeted systems against its will, spy on it without its knowledge as a victim of a cyber operation, or misuse it as a tool for attacks against his clients".
The agency did not give any specific evidence or reason for misconduct against the company's products at this time.
Following this warning, a Ferrari spokesperson said that Ferrari had decided to remove the Kaspersky Lab logo from its Formula 1 cars and would assess its supply relationships with the security software maker.
The spokesman added that the Kaspersky logo had been removed from Formula One cars, drivers' helmets and the team's online platforms, "as the partnership is temporarily suspended for the time being, due to a joint decision taken by the two companies."
Kaspersky, which has been in the market for 25 years, criticized the warning as politically motivated.
The company's founder, Eugene Kaspersky, said his company was given only hours to address the "baseless and false allegations", adding, "This is not an invitation to dialogue...it is an insult."
"No evidence or proof of the use or misuse of Kaspersky products for malicious purposes has been presented in the company's 25-year history, despite countless attempts to do so," Kaspersky said.
He also touched on the Russian war on Ukraine, stressing that it can be ended through diplomatic means, and expressed his hope to stop "hostile acts and continue dialogue."