US "Important Milestone" Immediately Welcomed
The European Union (EU) has imposed its first-ever cyber sanctions targeting North Korean company 'Chosun Expo' and individuals and entities from China and Russia. Those subject to the sanctions will face restrictions on entering the EU and asset freezes. It is also prohibited for individuals and entities within the EU to provide funds to those under these sanctions. The United States, which has expressed concerns about potential cyberattacks from North Korea, China, and Russia and emphasized the need for countermeasures, immediately welcomed the move under the name of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
The EU Council, representing the governments of the 27 EU member states, announced on the 30th (local time) that it had decided to impose sanctions on six individuals and three entities responsible for or involved in various cyberattacks, specifying that the sanctioned parties include six individuals and three entities from North Korea, China, and Russia.
Included in the first list of sanctions announced that day was North Korea's joint venture company 'Chosun Expo.' The EU Council pointed out that Chosun Expo may be linked to North Korea's prominent hacking groups, the 'Lazarus Group' and 'APT 38.' Cyberattacks associated with Chosun Expo include the 'WannaCry' malware attack that struck the world in May 2017, cyberattacks on Poland's financial supervisory authority and Sony Pictures Entertainment, cyber theft from Bangladesh's central bank, and attempted cyber theft from Vietnam's Tien Phong Bank.
The United States hailed the EU's sanctions as an "important milestone." In a statement titled "The United States Applauds the EU's Sanctions Measures," distributed by the State Department that day, Secretary Pompeo said, "The United States supports efforts to hold bad actors accountable for malicious cyber activities," and described the EU's action as an important milestone.
Meanwhile, amid accumulating sanctions causing severe foreign currency shortages in North Korea, claims have been steadily raised that North Korea is earning foreign currency through hacking. The United Nations (UN) published a report last year estimating that North Korean hackers have stolen over $2 billion (approximately 2.4 trillion won) in foreign currency, which is believed to be used for missile development programs. Cryptocurrency has been cited as a field North Korea has been focusing on in recent years. International security firms claim that North Korean hackers have infiltrated numerous cryptocurrency exchanges and stolen hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency.
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