Recorded Future: Russia's 'Undesirable' Designation Is a Compliment

The Russian government has set a new precedent for itself by officially designating Recorded Future, the cyber threat intelligence (CTI) company, as "undesirable." It's a development that the company's CEO sees as a badge of honor.

The term is the country's official parlance for sanctioning, and it means that Recorded Future won't be able to operate within Russia or interact with any Russian companies or individuals. It's a status that was first introduced in 2015 as a way to cut off Russian citizens from the influence of nongovernmental organizations (NGO), media organizations, and other members of civil society that call out human rights abuses and other concerns about Vladimir Putin's regime, which is widely characterized as repressive and authoritarian.

Recorded Future is the first infosec organization and one of very few businesses to "earn" the designation, though the Russia Federation's Office of the Prosecutor General incorrectly labeled it as an NGO in its Dec. 18 announcement about the "undesirable" labeling.

Among the company's supposed crimes against the state: being funded by American businesses; providing services for searching, processing, and analyzing data including on the Dark Web; "specializing in cyber threats"; and actively interacting with the CIA and other foreign intelligence forces.

The Prosecutor General also called out the company, which incidentally is being acquired by Mastercard for $2.65 billion, for spreading "propaganda" and engaging in "offensive information campaigns" regarding its war with Ukraine, tracking Russian Army activities, and feeding intelligence to the Ukrainian authorities.

For his part, Recorded Future CEO Christopher Ahlberg took the news better than in stride, posting on X, "Some things in life are rare compliments. This being one."