tl;dr
The US Treasury sanctioned North Korean hacker Song Kum Hyok and others for using stolen identities to secure remote jobs worldwide, funneling illicit income to support North Korea’s weapons programs and injecting malware into company networks. Russian national Gayk Asatryan and entities facilitatin...
The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned Song Kum Hyok, a North Korean hacker linked to the Reconnaissance General Bureau’s Andariel group. Song orchestrated a scheme involving DPRK nationals, often stationed in China and Russia, who used stolen identities to secure remote jobs at companies worldwide, including in the US. These workers generated illicit income, which was funneled back to Pyongyang to support its weapons and missile programs. Some workers also injected malware into company networks, amplifying the threat. OFAC also sanctioned Russian national Gayk Asatryan and several entities that facilitated a Russia-based IT worker pipeline employing North Korean laborers under false identities.
The Treasury highlighted the extensive network of thousands of skilled North Korean IT workers who leverage freelance and cryptocurrency platforms to launder funds and bolster the regime’s prohibited weapons activities. This move forms part of broader US efforts to disrupt North Korea’s cyber espionage and illicit labor revenue streams.
In a separate crackdown, the US Department of Justice charged Michael Shannon Sims and Juan Carlos Reynoso, founders of OmegaPro, with defrauding investors out of over $650 million. They promised extraordinary crypto and forex returns of 300% within 16 months, attracting victims worldwide. Sims and Reynoso used glamorous events and social media to promote the scam, targeting vulnerable individuals, including those in Puerto Rico. The defendants allegedly concealed illicit profits through insider-controlled cryptocurrency wallets and shifted victim accounts to new platforms after claiming hacks threatened the original site, leaving investors unable to recover their funds.
Both face serious charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, with potential sentences of up to 20 years in prison per count, signaling intensified US action against crypto fraud and cyber-related threats connected to hostile regimes like North Korea.