(File photo: Reuters)

Washington DC (People's Daily) - The US Department of the Treasury slapped new sanctions on Russian companies and businessmen Monday citing cyberattack claims and assisting Russian military and intelligence agencies.  

The Trump Administration said in a statement that three individuals and five businesses had been added to the Office of Foreign Assets Controls Specially Designated Nationals List, including a firm they believed controlled by Russia’s Federal Security Service.

“The United States is engaged in an ongoing effort to counter malicious actors working at the behest of the Russian Federation and its military and intelligence units to increase Russia’s offensive cyber capabilities,” said an official statement from US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

The accused firms have been directly assisting with the development of Russia’s cyber capabilities.

Treasury Department officials said the sanctions were in response to a series cyber attacks, including intrusions into the US energy grid, global network infrastructure, and last year’s “NotPetya” attack.

Divetechnoservices employees Aleksandr Lvovich Tribun, Oleg Sergeyevich Chirikov, and Vladimir Yakovlevich Kaganskiy were also sanctioned.

The companies affected are Digital Security and its subsidiaries ERPScan and Embedi, the Kvant Scientific Research Institute, and Divetechnoservices.