US sanctions Russian firm for acquiring, distributing US government cyber tools

The US Treasury Department said it sanctioned a Russian cybersecurity firm and several associated individuals on Tuesday for acquiring and distributing stolen cyber tools originally developed for exclusive use by the US government and its allies.

At the center of the action is Operation Zero, a St. Petersburg-based firm run by Sergey Zelenyuk that US authorities allege deals in software exploits, pieces of code that take advantage of program vulnerabilities to enable unauthorized access or data theft. Washington says the firm had been offering cash rewards to anyone willing to hand over weaknesses in US-built software.

At least eight of the tools it allegedly stole from an American company by a former employee and sold to an unauthorized user. That employee, Australian national Peter Williams, pleaded guilty October to two counts of trade secret theft after admittedly selling the tools to Operation Zero over a three-year period in exchange for millions of dollars in cryptocurrency.

Five individuals and entities linked to Zelenyuk were also designated, including his assistant and a suspected member of a cybercrime gang. A separate exploit brokerage firm, Advance Security Solutions, which US authorities allege runs a similar bounty program targeting US software, was sanctioned as well.

The State Department sanctioned Zelenyuk, Operation Zero and affiliated UAE company Special Technology Services LLC FZ (STS) under legislation designed to protect American intellectual property.

"If you steal US trade secrets, we will hold you accountable," said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.