The Australian Government has imposed financial sanctions and travel bans on four entities and one individual engaged in cybercrime to support and fund North Korea's unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.
The scale of North Korea's involvement in malicious cyber-enabled activities, including cryptocurrency theft, fraudulent IT work and espionage is deeply concerning.
UN-sanctioned North Korean entities have deep links with malicious cyber activities, as outlined in the second report by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT). The report found:
- North Korean cyber actors stole at least $1.9 billion in cryptocurrency from companies around the world in 2024, and used a global network of North Korean nationals and foreign facilitators to launder stolen digital assets.
- North Korean officials used cryptocurrencies to sell and transfer military equipment and raw munitions materials such as copper.
The Australia Government is taking this action with the United States to apply pressure on North Korea's illegal revenue generation networks and address its persistent challenges to security and stability.
Australia will continue to work with international partners to respond to malicious cyber activity, promote the framework for responsible state behaviour in cyberspace and keep Australians safe.
We call on North Korea to comply fully with United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions to abandon its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner.
We encourage all Australians to be vigilant about their cyber security, and be aware that payments to entities and individuals listed under Australia's autonomous sanctions framework could result in action by law enforcement agencies.
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