Washington imposes sanctions on 12 Russian citizens
WORLD, June 22 (YPA) – US Department of Treasury on Friday imposed sanctions on 12 people in senior leadership roles at AO Kaspersky Lab, a Russian cybersecurity and anti-virus company.
“Today’s 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,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson in a statement.
The US will take action where necessary to hold accountable those who would seek to facilitate or otherwise enable these activities, Nelson added.
The sanctions targeted company leadership including the chief business development officer, chief operating officer, legal officer, and others. However, the Department did not designate Chief Executive, Eugene Kaspersky or the company itself.
On Thursday, the Commerce Department banned Kaspersky from conducting new business in the US.
The ban also prohibits existing users of Kaspersky’s antivirus software from downloading software updates. Those using Kaspersky’s software have until September 29th to find alternatives.
In a press release, the Commerce Department urged anyone using Kaspersky software to “expeditiously transition to new vendors to limit exposure of personal or other sensitive data to malign actors due to a potential lack of cybersecurity coverage.”
Meanwhile, Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary for the Russian president, explained that these restrictions were imposed for reasons related to competition.
He noted that this is Washington’s “preferred method” in its unfair struggle.
@E.Y.M