US Imposes Sanctions on North Korean Entities, Individuals for Illicit Cyber Activities

The United States Department of the Treasury has taken action to disrupt North Korea’s malicious cyber activities by imposing sanctions on four entities and one individual linked to illicit revenue generation and online malfeasance.

Sanctioned Entities and Individual

The sanctioned entities are:

• Pyongyang University of Automation: a premier cybersecurity instruction institution responsible for training malicious cybersecurity actors
• Technical Reconnaissance Bureau: an agency controlled by the Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB), North Korea’s primary intelligence bureau, which leads the development of offensive cybersecurity tactics and tools
• 110th Research Center: a subordinate entity of the Technical Reconnaissance Bureau, responsible for conducting cyberattacks against networks worldwide
• Chinyong Information Technology Cooperation Company: an entity associated with the UN- and US-sanctioned Ministry of People’s Armed Forces, which employs delegations of North Korean IT workers operating in Russia and Laos
• Kim Sang Man: a representative of Chinyong’s Vladivostok office, suspected of paying salaries to family members of overseas North Korean worker delegations

Sanctions Aim

The sanctions aim to disrupt North Korea’s malicious activities, which generate revenue for the government through fraudulent means, including:

• Cyberattacks on financial institutions
• Cryptocurrency theft
• Illicit employment of IT workers abroad

In 2022, North Korean hackers stole an estimated $630 million to over $1 billion in virtual currency, more than any previous year.

US Department of Treasury Statement

“The DPRK conducts malicious cyber activities and deploys IT workers abroad who fraudulently obtain employment to generate revenue that supports the Kim regime,” said the US Department of Treasury. The sanctions were taken in coordination with South Korea, which also imposed sanctions on one entity and individual associated with overseas North Korean IT workers.

US Vows to Continue Holding North Korea Accountable

The US has vowed to continue holding North Korea responsible for its actions, citing the country’s widespread illicit cybersecurity and IT worker operations that threaten international security by financing Pyongyang’s dangerous activities, including:

• Unlawful weapons of mass destruction programs
• Missile programs

By imposing these sanctions, the US is committed to disrupting North Korea’s malicious cyber activities and holding the Kim regime accountable for its actions.