Millions in crypto funded tools to exploit U.S. software, Treasury says in new sanctions

The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned a Russian company, Operation Zero, and the individuals behind it after accusing them of buying stolen cyber tools for millions in cryptocurrency and re-selling those technologies, which were created to be used by the U.S. government.

The tools bought and sold by newly sanctioned Sergey Sergeyevich Zelenyuk and his business, Operation Zero, were said to be originally stolen by an Australian national, Peter Williams, who once worked at the defense contractor that made the national-security focused software “for the exclusive use of the U.S. government and select allies.” Williams pleaded guilty last year to selling trade secrets.

“Treasury will continue to work alongside the rest of the Trump Administration to protect sensitive American intellectual property and safeguard our national security,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent in a statement.

Zelenyuk and the others are said to be the first people to be sanctioned under the Protecting American Intellectual Property Act. The sanctions by the Office of Foreign Assets Control block U.S. people from any business dealings with those flagged or with others who do business with them.”Operation Zero has sought to recruit hackers to support its activities and develop business relationships with foreign intelligence agencies through use of social media,” the Treasury Department said in its statement. The accusations say the tools were offered for sale to those seeking to exploit vulnerabilities in computer software.

While the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control alleged that cryptocurrencies were used in the transactions, it did not list specific addresses for blacklisting.