EU Takes Step Toward Cyberattack Sanctions
EU leaders on Thursday backed an initiative by Lithuania and several other member states, including Latvia, to expand the sanction regime and impose them for cyber attacks, a Lithuanian diplomat has said.
"Leaders agreed that it would be possible to punish persons who contribute to cyber attacks in the EU territory," Nerijus Aleksiejunas, an adviser to Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said. The adopted decision is a political one and it will be finally endorsed by the Council.
The proposal for the EU to impose sanctions for cyber attacks was submitted by Lithuania, the UK, the Netherlands, Romania, Finland, Denmark, Latvia and Estonia. Several weeks ago, the Netherlands accused Russia of an attempt to carry out a cyber attack against the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) which investigated the poisoning of ex-Russian double agents Sergey Skripal and his daughter with the Soviet-made Novichok agent in the UK city of Salisbury.
