President Barack Obama declared the threat of cyber attacks by foreign agents a 'national emergency ' as he unveiled plans to impose sanctions on hackers in the wake of an epidemic of attacks against American networks . Obama took aim at Russia , China and Iran as he revealed an executive order which will allow the U.S. Treasury to freeze or block assets of those involved in attacks on 'critical ' American computer networks . The announcement followed a series of high profile incidents , including a devastating attack against Sony Pictures , and data breaches that stole credit card or health data on tens of millions of Americans . 'National emergency ' : Obama unveiled plans to impose sanctions on hackers after an epidemic of attacks . 'It ’ s one of the great paradoxes of our Information Age — the very technologies that empower us to do great good can also be used by adversaries to inflict great harm , ' he wrote in a blog post on Medium . Obama said cyber attacks - many which originate from overseas - 'pose one of the most serious economic and national security challenges to the United States ' . He added it required more than 'diplomacy , law enforcement , and cooperation with other nations and the private sector ' to tackle . He wrote : 'It 's often hard to go after bad actors , in part because of weak or poorly enforced foreign laws , or because some governments are either unwilling or unable to crack down on those responsible . ' Obama said hackers working in China and Russia target America 's defense contractors and the systems designed to support the country 's troops , while hackers in Iran were targeting banks and North Korea went after Sony . Michael Daniel , special assistant to the president and cyber security co-ordinator , said the new sanctions would 'go after the worst of the worst of malicious cyber actors ' , while Obama assured people they would 'in no way target the unwitting victims of cyberattacks , ' such as people whose computers are hijacked . However , they did not reveal any specific targets , but officials told the Financial Times it could be used against individual hackers hired by companies or countries . Threat : The attacks included last year 's Sony pictures hack - allegedly carried out by North Korea . Pictured : The secretive state 's leader , Kim Jong-un . Anger : It is said the country was unhappy about the film The Interview ( poster , right ) , which depicted an assassination attempt against the North Korean leader , portrayed by Randall Park ( left ) They would also not curb the freedom of the internet , Obama stated . But some privacy activists questioned the broad language in the order , saying it could have unforeseen impacts . The order could be interpreted to target investigative reporters , said Marcy Wheeler on the privacy blog Empty Wheel . 'Does WikiLeaks ' publication of secret Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations qualify ? Does Guardian 's publication of contractors ' involvement in NSA hacking ? ' she wrote . ' I 'm generally concerned about this ( order ) because of the way national emergencies have served as the justification for a lot of secret spying decisions , ' Wheeler added . But Paul Rosenzweig of the Chertoff Group , a security consulting firm , said the national emergency language is appropriate . 'The use of `` national emergency ' '' is reflective , I think , of the seriousness with which the administration views the problem — and that 's a good thing , ' Rosenzweig said on the Lawfare blog . 'What is most notable about the order is how strongly the US is flexing its economic muscle . If access to US markets is of value , the administration is signalling , strongly , that continued access may be conditioned on good cyber behavior . Concern : Some privacy activists questioned the broad language in the order and its unforeseen impacts . However , Obama 's advisers were keen to stress how important the new measures were . Lisa Monaco , the President 's assistant for homeland security and counterterrorism , wrote in a blog : 'In just the past year , we have seen a significant increase in the frequency , scale , and sophistication of cyber incidents targeting the American people , including everything from large data breaches and significant intrusions to destructive and coercive cyber attacks intended to influence the way ordinary Americans exercise their constitutional rights . 'In many cases , these threats stem from actors overseas using malicious cyber activities to inflict harm on Americans without ever leaving their desks . ' Ms Monaco warned 'no one connected to the internet is immune ' to the threat , buyt added the sanctions are 'not a tool that we will use every day ' and 'law-abiding companies have absolutely nothing to worry about ' .
Barack Obama made announcement following high profile cyber attacks . Says hackers targeting U.S. from places including Russia , China and Iran . Critical of 'governments unable or unwilling ' to go after 'bad actors ' New order allows treasury to freeze or block assets of those involved . It is hoped the power will take away the financial incentive behind attacks .