Additional US sanctions issued to clampdown North Korean IT worker scam

The U.S. has continued its crackdown against North Korean IT worker scams with sanctions against the country's government weapons trading office Department 53 and its Laos-based front companies Korea Osong Shipping and Chonsurim Trading Corporation and their respective leaders, as well as China-based Liaoning China Trade Industry, according to The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.

Under the helm of Department 53, both Laos-based front companies housed North Korean IT workers to facilitate revenue-generating IT projects, said the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control. On the other hand, Liaoning China Trade Industry provided the IT workers the necessary equipment needed for global attacks. "The [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] continues to rely on its thousands of overseas IT workers to generate revenue for the regime, to finance its illegal weapons programs, and to enable its support of Russia's war in Ukraine," noted Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley Smith, who emphasized the U.S.'s continued commitment to dismantle such activity.