Obama signs executive order imposing sanctions on overseas hackers

President Barack Obama has signed a new executive order that imposes new economic sanctions on anyone who perpetrates cyber attacks against American interests, putting into practice an idea that has been floated for at least two years.

That would mean that if the United States can effectively identify a person or group of people conducting such breaches, and who have assets Stateside, then those assets could be frozen or have related financial transactions severely hindered.

"Starting today, we’re giving notice to those who pose significant threats to our security or economy by damaging our critical infrastructure, disrupting or hijacking our computer networks, or stealing the trade secrets of American companies or the personal information of American citizens for profit," the president wrote on Medium.

"From now on, we have the power to freeze their assets, make it harder for them to do business with U.S. companies, and limit their ability to profit from their misdeeds."

Of course, for these financial sticks to have any real meaning, it of course requires that the suspect have assets inside the country or deal with American financial institutions.

The Obama administration tightened sanctions against North Korea in January 2015 in the wake of the hacks against Sony Pictures.