Officials with the U.S. Treasury told TechCrunch that the government was imposing sanctions against the brokers of zero-days ' security vulnerabilities in software that are unknown to its developer but can be abused to hack people ' as they pose a threat to U.S. national security, foreign policy, and economy. The first sanctioned company is Operation Zero, a Russian firm that launched in 2021. The company made headlines in 2023 when it announced that it was offering up to $20 million for zero-days in Android devices and iPhones, and later announced that it was offering up to $4 million for zero-days in Telegram. The company claims to work exclusively with the Russian government and local organizations. The Treasury said it's also sanctioning the company's founder, Sergey Zelenyuk, who officials accused of selling exploits to foreign intelligence agencies and who say he sought to develop spyware and hacking technologies. The Treasury said Zelenyuk engaged in recruiting hackers and...
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