Cyber Sanctions: Increasing Application of the New Instrument

Politically motivated hacker attacks are increasingly a cause for concern. To counter these cyberattacks, United States president Joe Biden enacted extensive sanctions against Russia in April 2021. Among other actions taken, 10 Russian diplomats were expelled and 38 organisations, companies, as well as individuals directly sanctioned. The US government accuses the Russians of interfering in recent US elections, alongside carrying out further cyberattacks (the SolarWinds hack). In contrast, the European Union is still cautious in its use of cyber sanctions. In 2020, the EU froze the bank accounts of and imposed entry restrictions on individuals and organisations involved in cyberattacks on companies, authorities, and the German Bundestag for the first time. Such sanctions are intended to hit perpetrators directly, but avoid a political attribution of responsibility for these hacking attacks.

In this GIGA Forum, experts will discuss key questions relating to the application of cyber sanctions: What both opportunities and risks does this new instrument of international security policy offer? What are the opportunities for greater cooperation between the EU, the US, and the United Nations to prevent and combat malicious hacking attacks? How can the EU strengthen its capacity to prevent and respond to cyberattacks – in member states, but also in other countries elsewhere via “cyber development cooperation”?

Speakers: Dr. Julia Grauvogel is Senior Research Fellow at the GIGA Institute for African Studies and Spokesperson of the GIGA Research Team “Interventions and Security.”

Julia Schuetze is Junior Project Director of “International Cyber Security Policy” at the Stiftung Neue Verantwortung.

Felix Haala is a member of the Coordination Staff of “Cyber Foreign Policy and Cyber Security” at the German Federal Foreign Office.

Moderator: Dr. Christian von Soest is Lead Research Fellow at the GIGA Institute for African Studies and Head of GIGA Research Programme “Peace and Security.”