TechFlow News, February 25: According to CoinDesk, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has imposed sanctions on the Russian company Operation Zero and associated individuals, accusing them of using millions of dollars in cryptocurrency to purchase stolen cyber tools and resell these technologies.
These tools were originally developed by a defense contractor for exclusive use by the U.S. government and its allies. It is reported that Peter Williams, a former employee of the contractor and an Australian citizen, stole and sold these trade secrets; he pleaded guilty to the charges last year.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the Department will continue collaborating with the Trump administration to safeguard sensitive U.S. intellectual property and uphold national security. Sergey Sergeyevich Zelenyuk and his company Operation Zero are the first entities sanctioned under the Protecting American Intellectual Property Act.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control noted that although cryptocurrency was used in the transactions, no specific blacklist addresses were listed.
