SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
(Image via The Interview)
Ignoring Doubts, US Imposes Sanctions on North Korea Over Hacks
As experts question FBI's conclusion, White House says new restrictions are first step of response
Jan 03, 2015
The U.S. imposed new economic sanctions against North Korea on Friday after blaming the country for the recent hacks into Sony Pictures' systems.
Although the identity of the hackers is still unknown and there is little evidence to support the FBI's official consensus that North Korea orchestrated the attack, which released tens of thousands of Sony's emails and files, President Barack Obama signed an executive order to approve the sanctions as the "first aspect" of what the White House called a "proportional" response against the country.
The order placed sanctions on 10 North Korean officials and three government agencies. The officials will have their financial assets in the U.S. frozen and will be forbidden from using the American banking system.
Obama has also said the U.S. is considering putting North Korea back on its list of state sponsors of terrorism.
But all three groups, including the country's intelligence agency, an arms exporter, and a defense research agency, are already on the U.S. sanctions list. It remains unclear how these sanctions are meant to deter or weaken any potential cybersecurity moves.
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said in a statement Friday, "Today's actions are driven by our commitment to hold North Korea accountable for its destructive and destabilizing conduct."
North Korea has denied its involvement in the hacks, and cybersecurity experts continue to question the veracity of the FBI's conclusions. According to the Associated Press, anonymous "senior officials" would not elaborate on how the bureau made its determinations, and only "repeated their assertion that North Korea was responsible and said independent experts don't have access to the same classified information as the FBI."
This is the first time that the U.S. has imposed sanctions on another nation as revenge for a cybersecurity attack on an American company.
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
The U.S. imposed new economic sanctions against North Korea on Friday after blaming the country for the recent hacks into Sony Pictures' systems.
Although the identity of the hackers is still unknown and there is little evidence to support the FBI's official consensus that North Korea orchestrated the attack, which released tens of thousands of Sony's emails and files, President Barack Obama signed an executive order to approve the sanctions as the "first aspect" of what the White House called a "proportional" response against the country.
The order placed sanctions on 10 North Korean officials and three government agencies. The officials will have their financial assets in the U.S. frozen and will be forbidden from using the American banking system.
Obama has also said the U.S. is considering putting North Korea back on its list of state sponsors of terrorism.
But all three groups, including the country's intelligence agency, an arms exporter, and a defense research agency, are already on the U.S. sanctions list. It remains unclear how these sanctions are meant to deter or weaken any potential cybersecurity moves.
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said in a statement Friday, "Today's actions are driven by our commitment to hold North Korea accountable for its destructive and destabilizing conduct."
North Korea has denied its involvement in the hacks, and cybersecurity experts continue to question the veracity of the FBI's conclusions. According to the Associated Press, anonymous "senior officials" would not elaborate on how the bureau made its determinations, and only "repeated their assertion that North Korea was responsible and said independent experts don't have access to the same classified information as the FBI."
This is the first time that the U.S. has imposed sanctions on another nation as revenge for a cybersecurity attack on an American company.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
The U.S. imposed new economic sanctions against North Korea on Friday after blaming the country for the recent hacks into Sony Pictures' systems.
Although the identity of the hackers is still unknown and there is little evidence to support the FBI's official consensus that North Korea orchestrated the attack, which released tens of thousands of Sony's emails and files, President Barack Obama signed an executive order to approve the sanctions as the "first aspect" of what the White House called a "proportional" response against the country.
The order placed sanctions on 10 North Korean officials and three government agencies. The officials will have their financial assets in the U.S. frozen and will be forbidden from using the American banking system.
Obama has also said the U.S. is considering putting North Korea back on its list of state sponsors of terrorism.
But all three groups, including the country's intelligence agency, an arms exporter, and a defense research agency, are already on the U.S. sanctions list. It remains unclear how these sanctions are meant to deter or weaken any potential cybersecurity moves.
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said in a statement Friday, "Today's actions are driven by our commitment to hold North Korea accountable for its destructive and destabilizing conduct."
North Korea has denied its involvement in the hacks, and cybersecurity experts continue to question the veracity of the FBI's conclusions. According to the Associated Press, anonymous "senior officials" would not elaborate on how the bureau made its determinations, and only "repeated their assertion that North Korea was responsible and said independent experts don't have access to the same classified information as the FBI."
This is the first time that the U.S. has imposed sanctions on another nation as revenge for a cybersecurity attack on an American company.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.