The US slapped sanctions on 12 people in senior leadership roles at AO Kaspersky Lab yesterday, citing cybersecurity risks a day after the Biden administration announced plans to bar the sale of the Russian company’s antivirus software.
The sanctions targeted company leadership including the chief business development officer, chief operating officer, legal officer, corporate communications chief and others. The Treasury Department did not designate Kaspersky Lab, its parent or subsidiary companies or its chief executive Eugene Kaspersky.
“The action against the leadership of Kaspersky Lab underscores our commitment to ensure the integrity of our cyber domain and to protect our citizens against malicious cyber threats,” Treasury under-secretary Brian Nelson said in a statement.
The moves show the Biden administration is trying to stamp out any risks of Russian cyber attacks stemming from Kaspersky software and keep squeezing Moscow as its war effort in Ukraine has regained momentum and the US has run low on sanctions it can impose on Russia.
AO Kaspersky is one of two Russian units of Kaspersky Lab placed on a Commerce trade-restriction list on Thursday for allegedly co-operating with Russian military intelligence to support Moscow’s cyber-intelligence goals.
That move was coupled on Thursday with an unprecedented ban on sales, resales and software updates for Kaspersky products in the US starting September 29.
US authorities say the software poses serious risks, citing Russia’s influence over the company, the software’s privileged access to a computer’s systems which could allow it to steal sensitive information from American computers, and its ability to install malware and withhold critical updates.
The designation announced yesterday prohibits American companies or citizens from trading or conducting financial transactions with the sanctioned executives and freezes assets held in the US.
The Kremlin said yesterday that the US decision to ban Kaspersky’s software was a typical move by Washington to damage a company that competes with American ones.
Kaspersky Lab is a company that is “very competitive” in international markets, Russian president Vladimir Putin’s Press secretary Dmitry Peskov said, responding to the US move which was based on an assessment that Kaspersky’s software could cause security risks.
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