The Obama administration on Wednesday launched the first-ever sanctions program to financially punish individuals and groups outside the United States that are engaged in malicious cyberattacks.

US President Barack Obama, in an executive order, declared such activities a "national emergency" and allowed the US Treasury to freeze the assets and bar other financial transactions of entities engaged in cyberattacks.

"Cyber intrusions and attacks - many of them originating overseas-are targeting our businesses, stealing trade secrets, and costing American jobs," Obama said in a blog post issued by the White House.