US sanctions North Korean IT worker for 'cyber espionage' and cryptocurrency theft

PANews reported on July 9 that according to CoinDesk, the U.S. Treasury Department's sanctions regulator on Tuesday added North Korean citizen Song Kum Hyok to the "Specially Designated Nationals" list, accusing him of being a "malicious cyber actor" associated with North Korean hacker groups and engaging in cyber espionage. On Tuesday, the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control took action to exclude Song Kum Hyok from the global financial system because he arranged for other North Korean officials to work in multiple companies as IT personnel. These IT personnel would remit funds back to North Korea and also try to exploit company loopholes to make extra money. According to the announcement on Tuesday, North Korea profited from false employment by deploying IT personnel in global companies (including the technology and virtual currency industries).

Although the Treasury Department's announcement on Tuesday mentioned past hacking incidents of cryptocurrency projects, it did not identify specific projects or include any cryptocurrency wallets on the sanctions list. The Treasury Department said: "North Korean IT personnel often undertake projects involving virtual currencies, and they use virtual currency exchanges and trading platforms to manage funds from contract work and launder and transfer funds to North Korea."