The European Council announced it will extend for one year the framework for sanctions against cyberattacks that threaten the European Union and its member states. This framework allows the EU to freeze assets and impose travel bans on foreign hackers.
National capitals "decided to prolong the framework for restrictive measures against cyber-attacks threatening the EU or its member states for another year, until 18 May 2022," the Council said in a statement.
Sanctions currently apply to eight individuals and four entities, including Russian, Chinese and North Korean state-backed groups.
The Council imposed “cyber” sanctions for the first time in July 2020, targeting Russian, Chinese and North Korean hackers involved in major incidents in previous years, namely the NotPetya ransomware outbreak, Cloud Hopper supply chain hack and WannaCry ransomware attack.
In October 2020, the EU imposed sanctions on two Russian intelligence officers and a unit of the GRU military intelligence services for their involvement in a cyber-attack on the German Federal Parliament (Deutscher Bundestag) in April and May 2015.