Washington hits North Korean hackers with sanctions for covert activity on American soil
North Korean hackers secretly infiltrated US companies Photo: (Getty Images)
Thousands of IT specialists from North Korea posed as Americans, launched cyberattacks on companies, and helped finance Kim Jong Un’s military, according to a statement from the US Department of the Treasury and reporting by Bloomberg.
The US has imposed sanctions on several individuals and companies involved in a large-scale scheme to recruit North Korean citizens to pose as American IT specialists to fund Kim Jong Un’s regime.
The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) introduced restrictive measures against North Korean national Song Kum Hyok, described as a malicious cybercriminal, as well as another individual and four companies registered in Russia and North Korea. According to the agency, Son has ties to a hacker group operating on behalf of the North Korean government.
According to the US Department of the Treasury, Hyok allegedly coordinated a scheme in which North Korean IT specialists, along with individuals based in China and Russia, obtained fake American identities, often using stolen personal data of US citizens, to secure remote employment in American companies and fund North Korea’s regime.
“The workers use a variety of mainstream and industry-specific freelance contracting, payment, and social media and networking platforms,” the Treasury Department stated. In some cases, these individuals implanted malware into company networks.
According to the US government, thousands of North Korean specialists posed as citizens of other countries to infiltrate companies not only in the US but around the world.
In June, the US Department of Justice announced the arrest of one suspect and filed charges against nine others allegedly involved in the scheme.
In a separate statement, the US State Department announced rewards of up to $5 million for information that helps stop the funding of individuals supporting North Korea’s activities.
It also offered up to $10 million for help in identifying and locating those involved in cyberattacks targeting critical US infrastructure.
US sanctions against North Korea
In December 2024, the US imposed sanctions on Russia and North Korea. In particular, restrictions were introduced against several North Korean generals who had been deployed to support Russia’s war against Ukraine.
South Korea also imposed sanctions on both Pyongyang and Moscow. These measures targeted individuals and companies involved in cooperation between the two regimes.
Earlier, the US, South Korea, and Japan formed a trilateral group to monitor the enforcement of sanctions against North Korea.
