US Imposes New Sanctions on North Korean IT Workforce to Target Cyber Threats

The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on two individuals and two companies linked to North Korean IT worker schemes that exploit American organisations. These schemes involve placing skilled tech workers in U.S. firms under stolen or fabricated identities while utilising “laptop farms” to obscure the true locations of these employees. The workers send their earnings back to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) regime to support its weapons programme. Additionally, they often engage in data theft or deploy malware to create disruptions when their true identities are revealed. Among those sanctioned are Vitaliy Sergeyevich Andreyev, a Russian national who has facilitated financial transfers for the Chinyong Information Technology Cooperation Company, and Kim Ung Sun, a DPRK consular official in Russia who collaborated with Andreyev.

The sanctions also target Shenyang Geumpungri Network Technology Co., Ltd, a Chinese front company associated with Chinyong, which has generated over $1 million in profits since 2021, and Korea Sinjin Trading Corporation, a DPRK entity already under U.S. sanctions. These actions result in a freeze on U.S.-based assets for the designated individuals and companies, prohibiting American citizens and businesses from engaging in any transactions with them. This serves as a deterrent for entities outside the U.S., as they risk facing sanctions if they conduct transactions on behalf of the designated parties. OFAC is intensifying its efforts to target the infrastructure and financial facilitators that assist the DPRK in converting cryptocurrency into usable funds. 

Categories: Sanctions, North Korean IT Operations, Cryptocurrency Laundering 

Tags: Sanctions, North Korea, IT Workers, Cryptocurrency, Malware, Weapons Program, Financial Transfers, Laundering, U.S. Treasury, OFAC