Australia announced on Friday the imposition of sanctions on individuals and companies from North Korea, following accusations of engaging in illegal cyber activities and fraudulently using information technology workers to generate revenue for financing Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs.
The Australian News Agency reported that Australian authorities stated that two men and several companies played a pivotal role in managing North Korea's illegal cyber activities abroad, which analysts estimate generate billions of dollars to fund the country's weapons program.
The office of Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement that the sanctioned individuals and entities facilitated the fraudulent use of information technology workers to raise revenue supporting nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.
North Korea faces extensive international sanctions due to its nuclear program, while Western countries accuse it of employing thousands of IT workers under fake identities to obtain remote jobs, then transferring their earnings to government entities in the country. Pyongyang denies these allegations, describing them as attempts to tarnish its image.
Last July, the United States and its allies warned that North Korean technology workers were using artificial intelligence tools to conceal their true identities. Last month, New Zealand's Cyber Security Agency revealed that a North Korean worker had used a fake identity to obtain a remote job with a New Zealand company, before threatening to disclose sensitive information after his identity was exposed.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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