Here’s how North Korean hackers are still getting paid in crypto despite sanctions
The post Here’s how North Korean hackers are still getting paid in crypto despite sanctions appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
TRM Labs says North Korean IT workers have laundered millions in USDC and USDT while secretly working for blockchain startups. North Korea continues to rely on crypto to quietly fund its weapons programs and the U.S. government is stepping up efforts to shut it down. On July 8, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned a North Korean hacker, Song Kum Hyok, who they say helped organize a widespread scheme involving fake remote workers at unsuspecting tech and crypto companies. According to a recent report from blockchain forensic firm TRM Labs, Song was linked to Andariel, a cybercrime unit that’s part of North Korea’s military intelligence. They explained that he played a key role in placing IT workers — most of whom were actually North Korean operatives — into jobs at U.S. companies by using stolen American identities and fake documents. Many of these jobs were in web3, crypto infrastructure, or blockchain-related software development. TRM Labs said these workers operated from countries like China and Russia while pretending to be U.S.-based freelancers. They got paid in stablecoins such as USD Coin (USDC) and Tether (USDT). From there, the money appeared to have flowed through layers of wallets, mixers, and conversion services before ending up in the hands of the North Korean regime. “Treasury remains committed to using all available tools to disrupt the Kim regime’s efforts to circumvent sanctions through its digital asset theft, attempted impersonation of Americans, and malicious cyber-attacks.” Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, Michael Faulkender Analysts at TRM Labs pointed out that this is just the latest sign that North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau — the same agency behind Lazarus and Bluenoroff — is still using cyber tactics to support military goals. Treasury officials, they noted, have been warning that crypto theft and identity fraud…
Filed under: News - @ July 16, 2025 9:27 pm