President Joe Biden today signed an executive order that imposes sweeping sanctions on Russia for interfering in the 2020 presidential election, carrying out the SolarWinds hacking campaign and other actions.

As part of the move, the U.S. Treasury Department has hit 32 entities and individuals with sanctions over their roles in the efforts of the Russian government to interfere with the 2020 presidential elections. The 32 entities and individuals were also involved in other acts of disinformation and interference, the White House said.

Another major focus of the executive order is the SolarWinds hacking campaign, which exploited vulnerabilities in network management software sold by SolarWinds Inc. to compromise more than 16,000 networks worldwide. Multiple U.S. government agencies were among the organizations affected. Today, the U.S. named the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service as the perpetrator of the hacking campaign and imposed sanctions on six Russian technology companies that work with the Russian Intelligence Services.

“Treasury designated six Russian technology companies that provide support to the Russian Intelligence Services’ cyber program, ranging from providing expertise to developing tools and infrastructure to facilitating malicious cyber activities,” the White House stated. “We will continue to hold Russia accountable for its malicious cyber activities, such as the SolarWinds incident, by using all available policy and authorities.” 

The U.S. is also expelling 10 personnel from the Russian diplomatic mission in Washington D.C. The personnel include multiple representatives of Russian intelligence services.

Eight entities and individuals involved with Russia’s actions in Crimea have been sanctioned as well. The White House said that the sanctions were implemented by the Treasury Department in partnership with the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada. 

In its own statement, the Treasury Department said the Office of Foreign Assets Control is banning U.S. financial institutions from “participating in the primary market for ruble or non-ruble denominated bonds issued after June 14, 2021 by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the National Wealth Fund of the Russian Federation, or the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation.” The directive also prohibits U.S. financial institutions from lending them funds.

Addressing potential future steps, a White House fact sheet specified that the U.S. government is evaluating whether it should take action “to better protect our ICTS [information and communications technology and services] supply chain from further exploitation by Russia.”

Officials are already working to help organizations fend off future cyberattacks. The National Security Agency, together with a number of other agencies, today issued a cybersecurity advisory entitled “Russian SVR Targets U.S. and Allied Networks” that contains information on hacking tactics organizations should look out for.

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