The Chinese government has slammed the decision, calling it a smear campaign. Commenting on the news, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the country has cracked down on cyber attacks and that Washington was using the issue to “defame and smear China,” AP reports.

The federal government hit Chinese cyber group Integrity Technology Group with new sanctions on Friday, citing alleged computer intrusion incidents against those in the U.S. At the direction of

U.S. officials say the sanctioned Chinese firm provided botnet infrastructure for the China-backed hacking group Flax Typhoon

The U.S. Treasury on Friday sanctioned a Beijing-based cybersecurity company for its alleged role in multiple hacking incidents targeting critical U.S. infrastructure.