Washington, June 22 (IANS) The US Treasury Department has announced sanctions against 12 senior executives of Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab, a day after the Commerce Department banned the company from selling its antivirus software in the US.
“Today’s actions against Kaspersky Lab executives underscore our commitment to ensuring the integrity of the cyber domain and protecting the American people from malicious cyber threats,” Brian Nelson, undersecretary of the Treasury Department for Counterterrorism and Financial Intelligence, said Friday in announcing the designations of 12 Kaspersky Lab executives, including the company’s chief operating officer.
“The United States will take steps, where appropriate, to hold accountable those who facilitate or enable this activity,” Nelson added.
Meanwhile, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement that “Kaspersky is under the jurisdiction, control, and direction of the Russian government, and the Russian government could use its privileged access to obtain sensitive data, including personal information, or circumvent cybersecurity measures, posing unacceptable risks to U.S. national security and the safety and security of Americans.”
The announcement follows the Commerce Department’s decision on Thursday to ban the sale of Kaspersky Lab’s antivirus software in the United States.
“Among other activities, Kaspersky Lab will essentially be unable to sell its software in the United States or provide updates to software already in use,” the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security said in a statement.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the action, the first by the department, was in response to Russia repeatedly demonstrating “the capability and intent to use Russian companies like Kaspersky Lab to collect and weaponize sensitive U.S. information.”
– Ian
Integer/KHz
