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US sanctions Russian company Operation Zero over crypto-funded espionage case

Bitget • February 25, 2026

ChainCatcher News, according to The Block, the U.S. Treasury Department's OFAC has announced sanctions against the Russian cyber tools company Operation Zero and its head Sergey Zelenyuk, along with six others, accusing them of endangering U.S. national security by selling cyber vulnerability exploitation tools.

This case originated from a Department of Justice investigation: Australian Peter Williams admitted to stealing software secrets from U.S. defense contractors between 2022 and 2025, and selling them for millions of dollars in crypto assets to Operation Zero. This marks the first time the U.S. has imposed related sanctions under the Protecting American Intellectual Property Act.

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This article is one source in a clustered incident — the cluster page carries the summary, timeline and every other outlet covering it.

U.S. Sanctions Target Russian Zero-Day Exploit Brokers The U.S. Treasury announced sanctions against two companies and their founders involved in acquiring and reselling zero-day exploits, which are vulnerabilities in software that can be exploited by hackers. An Australian national was implicated in selling cyber tools to a Russian company, Operation Zero, which poses risks to U.S. national security and economic interests. 25 sources 33

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Operation Zero