WASHINGTON — on Wednesday signed an executive order aimed at retaliating against foreign-based online attacks on the United States as the government scrambles to catch up to national security threats that are evolving in a world of fast-changing technology.
The order authorizes financial and travel sanctions against anyone involved in attacks originating or directed from outside the country that pose “a significant threat to the national security, foreign policy or economic health or financial stability of the United States.” No targets for these measures were named.
Months ago, Mr. Obama for the hacking of Sony Pictures Entertainment as it was about to release “The Interview,” a comedy featuring a mocking portrayal of Kim Jong-un, the country’s leader. Mr. Obama used existing authority to impose economic sanctions on North Korean officials and a North Korean intelligence agency, but the new order will expand his options.
“Cyberthreats pose one of the most serious economic and national security challenges to the United States, and my administration is pursuing a comprehensive strategy to confront them,” Mr. Obama said in a statement. “As we have seen in recent months, these threats can emanate from a range of sources and target our critical infrastructure, our companies and our citizens.”
Among actions that could draw retaliation under the order would be attacks that target vital resources like power grids; steal money, trade secrets or personal information; or disrupt large computer networks. The government could penalize those responsible by freezing assets in the United States, barring Americans from doing business with them and blocking them from entering the country. They would be cut off from American goods and technology.
The sanctions in the Sony case were based on existing authority specifically targeting North Korea, but the new order has no geographic limits, mirroring the approach to counterterrorism, counternarcotics and transnational criminal organizations. “This allows us to target the activity itself wherever it arises,” said John E. Smith, acting director of the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which enforces sanctions.
The administration named no initial targets, although it has plenty of cases. American authorities have identified Russian and Chinese hackers tied to past attacks. But the imposition of sanctions, like last year’s indictment of five Chinese members of the People’s Liberation Army charged in the theft of data from American companies, is a delicate diplomatic move that risks shutting off help from a foreign government in tracking down targets on its soil.
Identifying perpetrators may be a particular challenge. In contrast to states like North Korea or Russia that are sanctioned for traditional violations of international norms, hackers dwell in a murky digital world cloaked in ways that make them difficult to catch. In attacks on JPMorgan Chase, Target and Home Depot, for instance, it has been hard to identify the culprits.
The administration tried to reassure the technology world that the new powers would be used judiciously. “We will not, certainly, be using this to target free speech or interfering with the free and open Internet, and we’re not going to be going after the innocent victims of people whose computers were taken over and used by malicious actors,” said Michael Daniel, the president’s online security coordinator.
Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said the order would send a message to hackers. “For far too long, these 21st-century culprits have acted with impunity,” he said. “This must come to an end if we are to safeguard the nation’s property, privacy and prosperity.”
But Republicans criticized Mr. Obama for not collaborating. “These executive actions can only do so much,” said Cory Fritz, a spokesman for House Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio. “The president needs to work with Republicans to enact the types of common-sense measures that passed the House in recent years with strong, bipartisan majorities but stalled in the Democratic-controlled Senate.”