South Korea announced its first independent sanctions related to cryptocurrency theft and cyber attacks against certain North Korean groups and individuals.
According to Seoul’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, four North Korean individuals and seven businesses have been blacklisted for their alleged involvement in cyberattacks and cryptocurrency theft. Those placed on the blacklist include Park Jin-hyok, Jo Myong-rae, Song Rim and Oh Chung-Seong.
The most notorious of the four hackers, Park, worked in information technology for Chosun Expo Joint Venture, a front company linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group. He is known for his involvement in the WannaCry ransomware attack in 2017 and the cyber attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment in November 2014. The United States Treasury blacklisted him in 2018.
According to information provided by the foreign ministry, North Korean hackers have stolen virtual assets worth more than $1.2 billion since 2017, including $626 million in 2022. As Cointelegraph reported, a secret report of the United Nations has revealed North Korean hackers more crypto assets were stolen in 2022 than in any other year. The UN report put the amount of theft between $650 million and $1 billion.
The independent sanctions against North Korean hackers and hacking groups came just hours after South Korea and the United States announced joint cybersecurity efforts against ransomware attacks. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, in coordination with the National Security Agency and other US intelligence organizations, issued a joint cybersecurity alert on the threat posed by ransomware from North Korea.
related: North Korea’s Lazarus Group masterminded the $100M Harmony hack: FBI confirms
This cyber activity, often linked to the General Reconnaissance Bureau – North Korea’s military intelligence agency – is considered one of the country’s main sources of funding for its nuclear and missile programs despite the country’s heavy international sanctions.