The White House said that President Obama was considering financial sanctions against the attackers who gained access to the files of millions of federal workers. Investigators had already said that Chinese hackers appeared to have obtained personal data from more than four million current and former federal employees in one of the boldest invasions into a government network.
At the White House, officials said that Obama was weighing the use of an executive order he signed in April that allows the Treasury secretary to impose sanctions on individuals or groups that engage in malicious cyberattacks.
"This newly available option is one that is on the table," said Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary.
Obama signed the order after the attack on Sony Pictures' computer network, an intrusion that American officials believe was carried out by the government of North Korea.
©2005 The New York Times News Service
