Overview

• The U.S. Treasury Department added Song Kum Hyok and four associated entities, including the Russia-based Asatryan IT Worker Network, to its specially designated nationals list.
• Song, linked to the Reconnaissance General Bureau’s Andariel hacking unit, orchestrated a scheme recruiting operatives in China and Russia to pose as U.S. remote workers under falsified identities.
• Proceeds from the IT worker network were funneled back to North Korea to finance its nuclear and ballistic missile development.
• Some recruited operatives planted malware within corporate systems to facilitate espionage and illicit data theft.
• Deputy Secretary Michael Faulkender said the sanctions reinforce U.S. resolve to disrupt the regime’s cyber revenue generation, digital theft and impersonation operations.