EU sanctions Chinese and Iranian actors over cyberattacks on critical infrastructure

The European Union has imposed sanctions on three China-based companies and two individuals over cyberattacks targeting EU countries and partners, affecting more than 65,000 devices across six EU member states between 2022 and 2023. The three entities are Integrity Technology Group, Anxun Information Technology, and Emennet Pasargad, with the two individuals described as Chinese co-founders and others linked to the operations.

The sanctioned firms and people face asset freezes, and EU citizens and companies are banned from providing them funds or resources, while travel bans apply to the individuals. The article notes that Integrity Tech was linked to attacks by China’s state-backed Flax Typhoon, a China-linked group active since 2021, and that Anxun Information Technology offered hacker-for-hire services.

The EU’s cyber sanctions regime now covers 19 individuals and 7 entities, and the move is described according to press release as a strong, sustained response to persistent malicious cyber activities targeting the EU and its partners.