Britain said that it will impose all necessary sanctions against malicious cyber attacks originating from Russia and North Korea.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt issued the position on Thursday during the NATO Cyber Defense Pledge Conference in London.

Hunt said that more than one-thousand hostile cyber activities occurred in Britain over the past two years, with about ten attacks every week from hostile countries. 

The foreign secretary added that North Korea was behind the “WannaCry” cyber attack in 2017 that disrupted businesses and government services worldwide, including the National Health Service in England. 

He said London will not accept cyber attacks against the country or its allies and that it will impose sanctions, adding the European Union established a new continent-wide sanction regime last week that will hit cyber criminals with travel bans and asset freezes.

[Photo : YONHAP News]