Following an extensive hacker attack, the USA sanctioned the Chengdu-based cybersecurity company Sichuan Silence Information Technology Company and its employee Guan Tianfeng. In April 2020, they allegedly planted malware on thousands of computers worldwide, the US Department of the Treasury said in a statement on Tuesday. More than 80,000 firewalls were affected. Three dozen of these were running at companies entrusted with the operation of critical infrastructure. If the hacker attack had not been countered, it could have killed people, the statement continues.