The U.S. Treasury Department imposed new sanctions on several Russian businesses and individuals for allegedly supporting efforts by Moscow's military and intelligence units to carry out cyberattacks on Washington and its allies.
The sanctioned companies include Kvant Scientific Research Institute, which is controlled by and has provided material and technological support to Russia's Federal Security Service, or FSB.
Also hit with sanctions were Digital Security and its subsidiaries ERPScan and Embedi, along with Divetechnoservices and its executives Aleksandr Lvovich Tribun, Oleg Sergeyevich Chirikov and Vladimir Yakovlevich Kaganskiy.
"The entities designated today have directly contributed to improving Russia's cyber and underwater capabilities through their work with the FSB and therefore jeopardize the safety and security of the United States and our allies," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.
Russia's cyber activities include the NotPetya attack and intrusions into the U.S. energy grid and global network infrastructure devices, according to the Treasury Department.
"Today's action also targets the Russian government's underwater capabilities," the department said. "Russia has been active in tracking undersea communication cables, which carry the bulk of the world's telecommunications data."
