US Sanctions 1 Entity, 1 Person Tied To North Korea's Malign Cyber Activities - Treasury

US Sanctions 1 Entity, 1 Person Tied to North Korea's Malign Cyber Activities - Treasury

The United States sanctioned one person and one entity from North Korea over Pyongyang's malign cyber activities, the Treasury Department said in a press release on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th September, 2018) The United States sanctioned one person and one entity from North Korea over Pyongyang's malign cyber activities, the Treasury Department said in a press release on Thursday.

"The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today sanctioned one entity and one individual tied to the Government of North Korea's malign cyber activities," the release said. "In a related action, today the US Department of Justice unsealed criminal charges against the same individual, Park Jin Hyok."

Earlier, OFAC's website revealed that the United States sanctioned, in addition to Park Jin Hyok, Korea Expo Joint Venture, also known as Chosun Expo, a Pyongyang-based technology firm.

Park Jin Hyok, the release said, who worked for Chosun Expo as a computer programmer, was allegedly involved with cyber attacks on Bangladesh Bank in 2016, Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2014, and the WannaCry ransomware attack, the release added.

"We will not allow North Korea to undermine global cybersecurity to advance its interests and generate illicit revenues in violation of our sanctions," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was quoted as saying in the release. "The United States is committed to holding the regime accountable for its cyber-attacks and other crimes and destabilizing activities."

The WannaCry ransomware attack in May 2017 infected hundreds of thousands of computers in more than 150 countries. The November 2014 attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment saw the hackers download the company's confidential information, including salaries, employee personal data and unreleased movies.