The European Union’s Council has placed sanctions on three firms from China and Iran, along with two individuals, due to their involvement in cyberattacks affecting devices and vital infrastructure.

Integrity Technology Group, one of the Chinese companies sanctioned, allegedly provided “technical and material support” between 2022 and 2023, enabling the hacking of over 65,000 devices across six EU member states.

The other sanctioned Chinese company, Anxun Information Technology, is accused of supplying hacking services that targeted “critical infrastructure and essential functions” in EU countries and other nations.

The two individuals added to the Council’s list are the co-founders of Anxun Information Technology, who are believed to have been key figures in the cyberattacks against EU members.

The Iranian company, Emennet Pasargad, is sanctioned for its involvement in multiple influence campaigns and for compromising an SMS service in Sweden.

Emennet Pasargad is also accused of hijacking advertising displays to disseminate false information during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

According to Microsoft, an actor using the name Holy Souls on a hacking forum claimed to have access to and offered to sell the personal details of 230,000 subscribers to the French publication Charlie Hebdo in early January 2023.

Holy Souls asked for 20 bitcoins, about $340,000 at the time, and shared examples of the stolen information, including the names and addresses of Charlie Hebdo’s subscribers.

Emennet Pasargad is thought to provide cybersecurity services to the Iranian government and has a history of conducting influence campaigns. In November 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice offered a $10 million reward for the capture of two Iranian nationals working for the company as contractors.

“Those now listed are subject to asset freezes, and EU citizens and firms are prohibited from providing them with funds, financial assets, or economic resources. Individuals also face travel restrictions, preventing them from entering or passing through EU territories,” notes the European Council.

The FBI in 2024 tied Integrity Technology Group to the ‘Raptor Train’ botnet, which is believed to be run by the Chinese state-sponsored hacking group ‘Flax Typhoon.’

In January 2025, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned the company because of their involvement in the mentioned attacks, which made it possible for the Raptor Train to create a huge network of 260,000 infected devices.

In March 2025, the U.S. Justice Department sanctioned Anxun Information Technology (also known as i-Soon) for offering hacking services and carrying out cyberattacks since at least 2011.

In mid-February 2024, i-Soon experienced a data breach that unveiled the company’s inner workings as a hacking contractor connected to China and its aggressive hacking tools.

U.S. authorities also offered rewards of up to $10 million for actionable information leading to the whereabouts of 10 executives and tech staff members working with Anxun Information Technology.

The European Union began enforcing cyber sanctions in 2019, and currently the controls are on 19 individuals and seven groups that are accountable for bad cyber actions.