US Congressman urges Joe Biden to sanction China for Microsoft hack

A top Congressman on Wednesday urged US President Joe Biden to sanction China over the country's recent cyber attack against Microsoft's email exchange.

In a letter, Republican Mike Rogers called on Biden, "[T]o impose significant sanctions using the authorities in Executive Order 13694, criminal charges, or other punitive measures against the People's Republic of China and the state-affiliated actors responsible for the cyberattack on the Microsoft email exchange."

Rogers, who is on the US House Armed Services Committee, said the 2015 order calls for economic sanctions against individuals and nations responsible for malicious cyber activities against the United States.

Ranking member Rogers noted that "A failure in this situation to punish the People's Republic of China in a manner comparable to our response to Russian hostilities creates an unacceptable double standard in this era of great power competition."

On Monday, the US and its allies had accused China of a massive hack of Microsoft Exchange email server software and asserted that criminal hackers associated with the Chinese government have carried out ransomware and other illicit cyber operations.

Rogers welcomed the public condemnation of China while noting that the announcement was not accompanied by sanctions.

"I commend you for publicly attributing the recent cyberattacks on Microsoft's email exchange to the People's Republic of China and hackers affiliated with their Ministry of State Security, but this action falls short," he wrote.

"The People's Republic of China routinely engages in hostile cyber actions against American businesses and our government agencies that goes without a clear and public response. It is imperative that you and your administration do more to dissuade hostile cyber activity by the People's Republic of China against us and our allies," Rogers added.