According to the Korea Times, South Korea has hit its belligerent northern neighbor with a barrage of penalties for the latter's cryptocurrency crimes.
This was the first time the nation has put independent restrictions against North Korea's online behavior.
Park Jin Hyok, a state-sponsored North Korean computer programmer responsible for the Sony Entertainment Pictures attack, and other well-known hackers are on the list of those who have been sanctioned.
One of the hostile entities the group is focusing on is BlueNoroff, a Lazarus Group offshoot, which has links to the government.
The current measure, according to South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is intended to make the world community painfully aware of the hazards involved in doing business with the rogue regime.
According to recent research from blockchain investigator Chainalysis, North Korean hackers were really in charge of the great bulk of cryptocurrency hacking activities in 2022. Cybercriminals stole cryptocurrency worth a record-breaking $3.8 billion last year, with decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols accounting for the lion's share of the total.
The North Korean government was found to be responsible for the extensive Ronin Network breach, which brought its perpetrators approximately $600 million.
The infamous Lazarus Group was behind many cyberattacks against Japanese cryptocurrency exchanges, according to a warning from Japan's National Police Agency in October. Cybercriminals from North Korea were sending phony emails to the staff of these exchanges.
