US announces new sanctions against North Korea following Sony hack

A US Treasury Department press release annouunced today that president Obama has signed an executive order authorizing new sanctions and escalating financial pressure on the Government of North Korea.

"Today's actions are driven by our commitment to hold North Korea accountable for its destructive and destabilizing conduct," said Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew in the release. "Even as the FBI continues its investigation into the cyber-attack against Sony Pictures Entertainment, these steps underscore that we will employ a broad set of tools to defend U.S. businesses and citizens, and to respond to attempts to undermine our values or threaten the national security of the United States."

The new sanctions target top officials and three North Korean agencies, including its primary intelligence agency, who will be blocked from engaging with the US financial system. The FBI has stated that the North Korean government was responsible for the recent Sony attack, thgough the Korean government denied it.

• Microsoft is laying off as many as 9,000 employees
• NASA will start livestreaming content on Netflix later this summer
• The government's Apple antitrust lawsuit is still on
• Millions of printers open to hacks due to unpatchable security flaw
• Microsoft to retire the Blue Screen of Death for a Black Void
• Google rolls out Street View time travel to celebrate 20 years of Google Earth