'Taking a firm geopolitical stand, the European Union imposed sanctions on targeted individuals and entities from Russia, China and North Korea in a sign that it was tackling cyber warfare head on.
As part of the measures, the six individuals and assets of the three institutions will be frozen and the people involved won’t be allowed entry into the bloc, the EU said in a statement on Thursday, adding that EU companies and individuals are forbidden from sending funds to those on the list.
The EU targeted the individuals and entities over their involvement in the attempted attack against the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in 2018 as well as the 2017 Not Petya cyberattacks, a virus that first infected computers in Ukraine demanding $300 in cryptocurrency to unlock systems before spreading to Europe and the U.S.
Both events were attributed to Russian actors by government officials.
EU officials also hit groups with penalties over their involvement in the 2017 Wannacry ransomware assault that affected hundreds of thousands of computers in more than 150 countries, which U.S. officials have attributed to North Korea.
In addition, sanctions were also imposed on those involved in hacking operations -- tied to Chinese spies -- that targeted the world’s biggest IT service providers.'
-
For the First Time, the EU Imposes Sanctions For Cyber Attacks, July 30, 2020
Context'..authorizing the president to respond with military force if China attacks Taiwan.'