WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – President Barack Obama launched a sanctions program yesterday to target individuals and groups outside the United States that use cyber attacks to threaten U.S. foreign policy, national security or economic stability.
In an executive order, Obama declared such activities a “national emergency” and allowed the U.S. Treasury Department to freeze assets and bar other financial transactions of entities engaged in destructive cyber attacks.
The executive order gave the administration the same sanctions tools it deploys to address other threats, including crises in the Middle East and Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. Those tools are now available for a growing epidemic of cyber threats aimed at U.S. computer networks.
