https://www.itnews.com.au/news/australia-and-us-impose-sanctions-on-north-korean-cyber-ops-621566
In a coordinated effort to disrupt North Korea’s cybercrime activities, Australia and the United States have imposed a series of financial sanctions and travel bans on entities and individuals associated with the country’s hacking operations. The targeted entities include the notorious Lazarus Group, known for the 2014 Sony Pictures attack and the 2017 WannaCry ransomware campaign, as well as the Andariel and Kimsuky hacking groups.
The sanctions also extend to North Korean bankers and front companies involved in managing and laundering funds stolen through cryptocurrency theft and other illicit cyber activities. These operations are said to have generated over $4.6 billion for North Korea’s weapons and ballistic missile programs. The move follows a report released by a multinational sanctions monitoring team that outlined Pyongyang’s use of cyber operations to evade UN Security Council resolutions.
By taking a “follow-the-money” approach, the sanctions aim to disrupt the financial infrastructure that supports North Korea’s cyber-enabled criminal enterprises. This latest action is part of a broader international effort to curb the regime’s ability to fund its military ambitions through illicit means, including the exploitation of digital assets and the exploitation of overseas IT workers.