Italy’s cybersecurity recommended that users of Russian software should “diversify” when it comes to products such as anti-virus solutions, firewalls, email and cloud services protection, and other security services.

The agency urged caution, while noting there had been no evidence of a drop in quality of technological products and services supplied by Russian firms to date, and without mentioning specific names of companies.

“In such a growing level of international conflict, it is necessary to re-evaluate the risk, taking into account the changed scenario and considering the consequent adoption of mitigation measures,” wrote Italy’s computer security incident response team, a part of the national cybersecurity agency.

Italy’s warning came the same day that Germany’s cybersecurity agency recommended users avoid the antivirus software of Russia’s Kaspersky, warning it could be implicated, willingly or unwillingly, in hacking attacks.

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Military and cyber specialists worry that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could lead to an outbreak of cyberattacks, with major consequences for civilians in both countries and globally.

Italy’s agency said it was possible that the “reliability and effectiveness” of Russian computer security technologies could be jeopardised by ongoing events. The conflict could, for example, affect suppliers’ ability to “ensure adequate support for their products and services.”

READ ALSO: Why is Italy resisting EU sanctions against Russia over cyberattacks?

The agency said users should perform an urgent “risk analysis of cybersecurity solutions”.

The United States in 2017 prohibited government agencies from using software from Kaspersky, which rejects accusations it works with the Kremlin.