President Obama on Tuesday extended the national emergency he declared last year on the threat of cyberattacks, which is related to an executive order enabling the Treasury Department to levy financial sanctions on governments, businesses or individuals tied to cyberintrusions on U.S. systems.
“These significant malicious, cyber-enabled activities continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy and economy of the United States,” Obama wrote to Congress on Tuesday. “For this reason, the national emergency declared on April 1, 2015, and the measures adopted on that date to deal with that emergency, must continue in effect beyond April 1, 2016.”
The Obama administration has yet to use the new powers spelled out in the order, but officials frequently cite their existence when discussing penalties the U.S. can impose on major hacks linked to the Chinese, Russian and Iranian governments, among others.
Before the executive order, the White House sanctioned North Korea for the headline-making attack against Sony Pictures Entertainment, which Pyongyang apparently orchestrated to punish the studio for releasing the comedy “The Interview,” an unflattering portrayal of the North Korean regime.
Seven Iranian hackers who were recently charged could be the first officially reprimanded by the new sanctions power, although the five members of the Chinese military that the Justice Department indicted in 2014 for cyberattacks on U.S. businesses have not received such treatment.
