AsusTek, better known as Asus, did not immediately return messages seeking comment. FBI Director Chris Wray told reporters the FBI, with court approval, secretly reached into thousands of routers and firewall appliances to delete the malware and reconfigure the devices. "We removed malware from devices used by thousands of mostly small businesses for network security all over the world," Wray said. "We shut the door the Russians had used to get into them." The affidavit noted that U.S. officials launched an awareness campaign "to inform owners of WatchGuard devices of the steps they should take to remediate infections or vulnerabilities" and yet less than half the devices had been fixed to expel the hackers. The affidavit noted that the FBI had carried out its work in cooperation with WatchGuard. The announcement came amid a flurry of new sanctions announced against Russian banks and elites, days after grim images emerged of the bodies of civilians shot at close range in the town of Bucha.