OFAC Sanctions Executives of Russian Cybersecurity Firm

The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week sanctioned 12 executives working for Kaspersky, the Russian cybersecurity software firm, for working in Russia’s technology sector. The designations target senior officials of AO Kaspersky Lab one day after the Commerce Department announced that it would be adding the lab, as well as Russia-based OOO Kaspersky Group and U.K.-based Kaspersky Labs Limited, to the Entity List (see 2406200032).

The sanctions target members of Kaspersky’s board of directors and leaders of the company’s legal, operating systems, corporate communications and human resources departments, among others. Brian Nelson, the Treasury Department’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said the designations will underscore “our commitment to ensure the integrity of our cyber domain and to protect our citizens against malicious cyber threats.”