Quick Hits: July 19, 2021

*** The Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security on Friday restricted trade with four Russian IT and cybersecurity firms due to to concerns that those organizations work with Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, support malicious cyber activity or otherwise pose a threat to U.S. national security.

Aktsionernoe Obschchestvo Pasit, Aktsionernoe Obshchaestvo AST, Aktsionernoe Obshchestvo Pozitiv Teknolodzhiz, and Obshchestvo S Ogranichennoi Otvetstvennostyu Neobit were added to Commerce's Entity List, along with two state-owned technology research centers. This designation prohibits organizations from partnering with, selling to or buying from U.S. companies without a special license from the Commerce Department.

*** The Coast Guard must improve its telework agreements and oversight in order to effectively continue expanded telework beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a July 16 Government Accountability Office report. While GAO noted the many steps taking to protect Coast Guard personnel over the past 17 months, it found that the service "lacks controls over telework documentation and its personnel data are not reliable."