U.S. to establish sanctions program to combat cyberattacks, cyberspying

President Obama on Wednesday will sign an executive order establishing the first sanctions program to allow the administration to impose penalties on individuals overseas who engage in destructive attacks or commercial espionage in cyberspace.In the works for two years, the order declares “significant malicious cyber-enabled activities” a “national emergency” and enables the treasury secretary to target foreign individuals and entities that take part in the illicit cyberactivity for sanctions that could include freezing their financial assets and barring commercial transactions with them.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-to-establish-sanctions-program-to-combat-cyberattacks-cyberspying/2015/03/31/7f563474-d7dc-11e4-ba28-f2a685dc7f89_story.htmlAlso see:Obama targets foreign hackers and state-owned companies over cyber-attacks [AP]
President Obama on Wednesday created the first-ever sanctions program to penalize overseas hackers who engage in cyber-spying and companies that knowingly benefit from the fruits of that espionage, potentially including state-owned corporations in Russia and China.”Cyber threats pose one of the most serious economic and national security challenges to the United States,” Obama said in a statement after signing an executive order creating the sanctions.
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/apr/01/obama-targets-foreign-hackers-state-owned-companies-sanctions