Both the U.S. and the UK have imposed sanctions against Chinese threat operations conducting cyberespionage operations against political targets, according to CyberScoop.
Wuhan XRZ, a tech firm suspected to be linked to Chinese state-sponsored threat group APT31, and seven other individuals have been sanctioned and indicted by the U.S. for their involvement in a widespread operation targeting U.S. officials and U.S.-based dissidents. Similar action has been done by UK officials against APT31 following the group's attack against anti-China members of the British Parliament. Officials in the UK have also accused other Chinese hackers of being involved in the 2021 Electoral Commission hack. While U.S. sanctions were regarded by Liu Pengyu, spokesperson of the Chinese embassy in the U.S, to be based on "groundless accusations," such an action was noted by cybersecurity experts as part of the Biden administration's efforts to counter China's oppressive efforts overseas. "It is incredibly important that the U.S. defend the liberties of people residing in the U.S. from foreign oppressions. It's what stops the U.S. from becoming like China," said SentinelOne's Dakota Cary.
