The United States sanctions North Korean hacking teams, involving Russian nationals and Chinese front companies
Recently, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on two individuals and two companies for allegedly stealing cryptocurrency from U.S. businesses to fund North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile development.
This action further expands the scope of sanctions against the North Korean IT company Chinyong, which was blacklisted in May 2023.
Reports indicate that those sanctioned include a Russian national, a North Korean official stationed in Russia, a team of North Korean IT workers, and a Chinese front company.
According to the Treasury Department, these individuals and entities constitute a transnational fraud network that arranges for North Korean IT personnel to infiltrate overseas technology and cryptocurrency companies under false identities, stealing digital assets from within and laundering funds to transfer them into North Korea.
In recent years, the U.S. Treasury has significantly hindered the rampant cryptocurrency theft by North Korean hacking organizations worldwide through sanctions on mixers and over-the-counter traders.
In the years prior, the U.S. Treasury also imposed sanctions on two well-known mixing service providers, Tornado Cash and Sinbad, aiming to close avenues for North Korea to evade international regulation via cryptocurrency.
Additionally, a report from the United Nations Security Council shows that between 2017 and 2024, North Korean-affiliated groups have stolen over $3.6 billion in cryptocurrency, and the total continues to grow.
Furthermore, blockchain analyst ZachXBT reports that over $16.58 million has been paid to North Korean IT workers from 2025 to June of this year. These individuals have infiltrated thousands of cryptocurrency-related job positions through false identities.
This incident not only highlights the complexity of North Korea's illegal activities using cryptocurrency but also reiterates the ongoing challenges faced by the cryptocurrency industry in terms of security and compliance.
To address these challenges, the cryptocurrency industry must strengthen personnel background checks to ensure the integrity and legality of all participants.