Thought Leadership
The US threat intelligence specialist Recorded Future has been classified as an “undesirable organization” by the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office.
The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office accuses Recorded Future of cooperating closely with the CIA and Ukraine and supporting Western propaganda campaigns against Russia. Specifically, the company is said to collect and analyze data on the activities of the Russian armed forces. In addition, tools for “offensive information operations” against Russia were made available to Ukrainian specialists free of charge, according to the statement.
Christopher Ahlberg, CEO of Recorded Future, reacted calmly to the classification and described it as a “rare compliment” on X (formerly Twitter). The company is likely to be the first cybersecurity provider to fall under the “undesirable organizations” law introduced in 2015.
The decision is part of the increasing tensions between Russia and Western technology companies. Only recently, the US Department of Commerce banned the Russian antivirus manufacturer Kaspersky from selling its software in the US, whereupon the company discontinued its US business in July.
The Russian law on “undesirable organizations” was tightened even further this year and can now be applied to all foreign companies, not just non-governmental organizations. Organizations that are classified as “undesirable” face fines, prison sentences and forced closure. Cooperation with such organizations is also punishable by law.
Recorded Future was recently acquired by Mastercard for 2.65 billion dollars. The company is one of around 200 organizations that have so far been classified as “undesirable” by Russia.
