Western companies, including “tech giants” such as Google, Microsoft, Meta and Apple, continue to provide hardware, software and services that help the Russian military and government, said the international sanctions task force studying the Ukrainian government. The report, published on Thursday, claimed that most of the products and services created by leading technology companies do not fall under the current sanctions regimes imposed on Russia by the West, leaving the companies to decide for themselves how to proceed. The study, by leading lawyers, economists, technology experts and diplomats, called on tech companies to “limit the damage their technology is causing to the people of Ukraine and the cost to the populations of sanctioned countries to pay for the damage that this technology allows. on Ukrainian territory”. “Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, most services from major foreign technology companies continue to be available to existing customers inside Russia,” the report said. “Russian devices continue to receive software updates/patches and continue to be used for battlefield uses by the Russian government.”
“Technologies central to Russia’s war efforts”
The report by the Yermak-McFaul International Panel of Experts on Sanctions—co-chaired by Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, and Michael McFaul, the former United States ambassador to Russia—claimed that the same technologies that permeate our lives are also central. in Russia’s war efforts. Devices such as smartphones, mobile operating systems and cloud services are being repurposed for “battlefield communication” and “real-time recognition” purposes. The study called on Western technology companies to “disable” key services that aided the Russian armed forces. “To the extent that it relies on technology running through smartphones and similar retail end-user devices, the Russian military’s lethal operations in Ukraine rely on the multitude of foreign IT services present on foreign devices,” it said. “Foreign companies can disable essential services on these devices that make them largely useless for military purposes.” The task force made similar claims about email, content sharing, and secure communications technologies. For example, the report said major social media platforms facilitated Russia’s ability to “spread disinformation beyond Russia’s borders.” The report claimed that technology from Western tech giants could indirectly facilitate Russian cyberattacks on Ukrainian infrastructure: “Russia relies on foreign IT to command and control its military, fire its weapons, conduct reconnaissance, controls the intelligence space, attack Ukrainian cyberattacks and civilian infrastructure, and protect its own infrastructure. “Foreign technology used by Russia includes everything from advanced email servers, network management capabilities, smart devices, software-as-a-service applications, encryption services and video streaming to computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) and Building Information Modeling (BIM) capabilities, robotic components, device controllers and engineering design, manufacturing and simulation software.”
A nice balancing act
The report acknowledged that tech companies faced a fine balancing act, with several majors such as Google and Microsoft also playing a leading role in helping the Ukrainian government protect itself from identified cyber threats. The group called on the West to “block the ability of the Russian government and its partners to use or procure IT containing software, firmware and components manufactured by or containing intellectual property from any sanctioning state.” The report also called for a ban on basic consumer goods sold in Russia that are absorbed into military equipment manufacturing and repair lines. “The Russian military-industrial complex has resorted to using microchips from consumer electronics in order to produce/repair certain types of weapon systems,” the report states. “Consumer digital cameras appear on its flagship drones. At this point, any foreign technology—or knowledge transfer or digital infrastructure—can ultimately be used to support Russia’s military activity in Ukraine. “It is imperative that Russia does not have access to any information in any shape or form that plays a role or could substitute for any element that plays a role in supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine,” the report said.
Call for stricter penalties
Mr Yermak said: “The findings in this report are worrying. I am making an immediate appeal to all Western governments to strengthen the sanctions regime against Russia. I also call on all Western companies to think about what more they can do themselves to end this shameful war of aggression.” Mr McFaul said: “These companies are not fundamentally malicious. But as the war continues, it is necessary to assess the direct and indirect damages associated with the continued availability of certain infrastructure and services within Russia and any ambiguity in the use of their technology. “We believe these companies – and the thousands of others still involved in the technology ecosystem that supports Russia – will want to work in good faith with the governments of the sanctioning nations to find swift, effective and comprehensive solutions to the limiting further damage”. Google, Meta, Microsoft and Apple have been contacted for comment.
