The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on Russian cyber firm Operation Zero after an Australian national pleaded guilty to stealing proprietary software for the company in exchange for millions of dollars in cryptocurrency.
The sanctions also target Operation Zero’s alleged founder, Sergey Sergeyevich Zelenyuk, along with five additional individuals accused of engaging in cyber activities that threaten U.S. national security.
As per the Treasury, “Operation Zero was a marketplace for cyber ‘exploits’ that used tools to exploit software vulnerabilities, to gain unauthorized access to systems, steal data, or control devices.”
Authorities say the company incentivized hackers by offering financial rewards for successful exploits, effectively supporting a cybercrime ecosystem funded through crypto payments.
U.S. sanctions follow software leak to Russian cyber firm Operation Zero
The new sanctions come after a U.S. Justice Department investigation revealed that Australian national Peter Williams stole sensitive software from the U.S. defense contractor he worked for and secretly shared it with Russian cyber firm Operation Zero.
In return, prosecutors say he was paid millions of dollars in cryptocurrency. Williams has pleaded guilty to two counts of stealing trade secrets.
U.S. says case highlights growing cyber espionage–digital assets link
U.S. officials described the case as a reminder of how cyber espionage is increasingly tied to digital assets.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the government will continue to take strict action against anyone involved in stealing American technology, stressing that protecting intellectual property and national security remains a top priority.
U.S. Treasury officials said the sanctions represent the first time authorities under the Protecting American Intellectual Property Act, passed in 2023, have been used.
The law allows the government to identify and penalize foreign individuals or companies that steal, or profit from, stolen U.S. trade secrets.
Using these powers, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) targeted Russia-linked cyber firm Operation Zero and people connected to it.
Alongside company head Sergey Zelenyuk, officials also sanctioned his assistant, Marina Evgenyevna Vasanovich, accusing them of supporting activities that benefited from stolen intellectual property and posed risks to U.S. national security.