Europe seeks to punish Putin's infowar pals with bans on Russian tech firms
(2023/06/26)
- Reference: 1687757347
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/06/26/eu_11th_russia_sanctions_tech/
- Source link:
The European Union has announced an eleventh package of sanctions against Russia for its illegal actions against Ukraine – and this time it's tried to tackle Moscow's key IT providers and entities established to evade export bans.
The IT firms Europe wants to harm work with Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) and/or Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade and hold clearances that make them privy to state secrets or permitted to work on weapons and other military equipment. A new criterion for existing sanctions means those companies can be cut off from the global financial system and otherwise made persona non grata for commercial and public entities with ties to the EU.
IT companies have been added to Europe's naughty list after the Council of Europe " [1]assessed that information warfare constitutes a key means by which Russia implements its war of aggression against Ukraine and commits gross violations of international law and the principles of the Charter of the United Nations."
Russian businesses want to party like it's 1959 with six-day workweek [2]READ MORE
The eleventh round of sanctions also tries to stop tech reaching Russia.
As The Register has previously [3]reported , US authorities plan to crack down on "evasion routes" that see sanctioned tech shipped to Russia through third nations – [4]estimates suggest over $2 billion of contraband kit has reached the pariah state.
[5]
Europe appears to have similar worries as the latest round of sanctions includes an enhanced anti-circumvention that "will allow the EU to restrict the sale, supply, transfer or export of specified sanctioned goods and technology to certain third countries whose jurisdictions are considered to be at continued and particularly high risk of circumvention."
[6]
[7]
The EU plans for this measure to be "an exceptional and last resort measure when other individual measures and outreach by the EU to concerned third countries have been insufficient to prevent circumvention."
[8]Russia tops national leagues in open source downloads
[9]Russia-pushed UN Cybercrime Treaty may rewrite global law. It's ... not great
[10]Russia has a stash of scary malware? We're shocked
[11]Cisco Moscow trashed offices as it quit Putin's putrid pariah state
To set the ball rolling, the revised sanctions name 87 entities of concern – located in China, Uzbekistan, the United Arab Emirates, Syria and Armenia – added to naughty lists previously populated only by Russian and Iranian organizations.
The fresh round of sanctions also identifies 15 more dual technologies that have been found on the battlefield in Ukraine, and prohibits their export to Russia. Switzerland has signed up to assist that effort.
Exports of all electric and hybrid vehicles have also been banned, as have all cars with engines of 1900cm ³ or larger.
[12]
The EU's [13]announcement of fresh sanctions proclaims previous restrictions "have limited Moscow's political and economic options considerably, by causing major financial strain, degrading Russia's industrial and technological capacity."
That assessment came before the extraordinary events of the last 72 hours – in which a mercenary force that does much of Moscow's frontline fighting advanced on the capital and shot at Russian aircraft, but then retreated.
The fresh round of sanctions may therefore be the least of Vladimir Putin's worries as the week opens – but also a symbol of why he has those worries. ®
Get our [14]Tech Resources
[1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv%3AOJ.LI.2023.159.01.0526.01.ENG&toc=OJ%3AL%3A2023%3A159I%3ATOC
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2023/05/22/6_day_work_week_russia/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/24/us_china_chip_manufacturing_cap/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/12/sanctions_busting_exporters_sell_to_russia/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZJlhwbHN7Kfz02R5bXymzAAAAo0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZJlhwbHN7Kfz02R5bXymzAAAAo0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZJlhwbHN7Kfz02R5bXymzAAAAo0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/05/05/russia_open_source_growth/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/14/un_cybercrime_treaty/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/06/register_kettle_vulkan_papers/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/06/cisco_destroyed_spares_in_russia/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZJlhwbHN7Kfz02R5bXymzAAAAo0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_3429
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
The IT firms Europe wants to harm work with Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) and/or Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade and hold clearances that make them privy to state secrets or permitted to work on weapons and other military equipment. A new criterion for existing sanctions means those companies can be cut off from the global financial system and otherwise made persona non grata for commercial and public entities with ties to the EU.
IT companies have been added to Europe's naughty list after the Council of Europe " [1]assessed that information warfare constitutes a key means by which Russia implements its war of aggression against Ukraine and commits gross violations of international law and the principles of the Charter of the United Nations."
Russian businesses want to party like it's 1959 with six-day workweek [2]READ MORE
The eleventh round of sanctions also tries to stop tech reaching Russia.
As The Register has previously [3]reported , US authorities plan to crack down on "evasion routes" that see sanctioned tech shipped to Russia through third nations – [4]estimates suggest over $2 billion of contraband kit has reached the pariah state.
[5]
Europe appears to have similar worries as the latest round of sanctions includes an enhanced anti-circumvention that "will allow the EU to restrict the sale, supply, transfer or export of specified sanctioned goods and technology to certain third countries whose jurisdictions are considered to be at continued and particularly high risk of circumvention."
[6]
[7]
The EU plans for this measure to be "an exceptional and last resort measure when other individual measures and outreach by the EU to concerned third countries have been insufficient to prevent circumvention."
[8]Russia tops national leagues in open source downloads
[9]Russia-pushed UN Cybercrime Treaty may rewrite global law. It's ... not great
[10]Russia has a stash of scary malware? We're shocked
[11]Cisco Moscow trashed offices as it quit Putin's putrid pariah state
To set the ball rolling, the revised sanctions name 87 entities of concern – located in China, Uzbekistan, the United Arab Emirates, Syria and Armenia – added to naughty lists previously populated only by Russian and Iranian organizations.
The fresh round of sanctions also identifies 15 more dual technologies that have been found on the battlefield in Ukraine, and prohibits their export to Russia. Switzerland has signed up to assist that effort.
Exports of all electric and hybrid vehicles have also been banned, as have all cars with engines of 1900cm ³ or larger.
[12]
The EU's [13]announcement of fresh sanctions proclaims previous restrictions "have limited Moscow's political and economic options considerably, by causing major financial strain, degrading Russia's industrial and technological capacity."
That assessment came before the extraordinary events of the last 72 hours – in which a mercenary force that does much of Moscow's frontline fighting advanced on the capital and shot at Russian aircraft, but then retreated.
The fresh round of sanctions may therefore be the least of Vladimir Putin's worries as the week opens – but also a symbol of why he has those worries. ®
Get our [14]Tech Resources
[1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv%3AOJ.LI.2023.159.01.0526.01.ENG&toc=OJ%3AL%3A2023%3A159I%3ATOC
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2023/05/22/6_day_work_week_russia/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/24/us_china_chip_manufacturing_cap/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/12/sanctions_busting_exporters_sell_to_russia/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZJlhwbHN7Kfz02R5bXymzAAAAo0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZJlhwbHN7Kfz02R5bXymzAAAAo0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZJlhwbHN7Kfz02R5bXymzAAAAo0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/05/05/russia_open_source_growth/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/14/un_cybercrime_treaty/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/06/register_kettle_vulkan_papers/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/06/cisco_destroyed_spares_in_russia/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZJlhwbHN7Kfz02R5bXymzAAAAo0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_3429
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
more of the same
Zolko
So if the 10 previous sanctions didn't work, then the 11th will be devastating to the Russian economy. Say the same people who said that if covid vaccines didn't work it was because of the unvaccinated and that we need 5th booster to finally overcome that humanity-threatening worldwide pandemic.
What about the North-Stream pipeline explosions, did the European Commission launch an independent investigation ?
CowHorseFrog
Its going to be interesting in another 5 - 10 years when Russia becomes the new Cuba, where everything is stuck in a time warp. Their shopping centers are already basically empty, and they will be stuck on PS5 when everyone is on the PS7 or PS8.
Naich
You mean when Russia becomes the old Russia.
CowHorseFrog
The EU should jail any corporate or executive or staff member that signs their name or approves any sales of any kind to Russia.
Binraider
Still letting Kaspersky in, despite it's known links to the FSB for now, somehow.
Nontheless, seems a step in the right direction.
Ah yes …
we are now preparing to abandon OnlyOffice, because we did absolutely not have enough other things to do.