Security News > 2022 > July > US puts $10 million bounty on North Korean cyber-crews

The US is offering up to $10 million for information on members of state-sponsored North Korean threat groups, double the amount that the State Department announced in April.

The agency's Rewards for Justice program this week said it will cough up the cash for intelligence related to "Government-linked cyber activities" in North Korea, including leads on people involved with such state-sponsored groups like Andariel, APT38, BlueNoroff, Guardians of Peace, Kimsuky, and Lazarus Group who are targeting critical infrastructure in the US. The latest notice is part of a larger ongoing campaign by the State Department and other US government agencies of offering bounties for information regarding cyberattacks from North Korea or other countries against the United States, particularly involving such sectors as critical infrastructure - such as power grids and water and food supplies - as well as federal elections.

The $5 million offered involved information on North Korean-linked cyberattacks on cryptocurrency exchanges and financial institutions used to support that country's nuclear and ballistic missile programs and to get around sanctions placed by the United States and other countries.

A month later came another $5 million reward for information that could disrupt such North Korean activities as cryptocurrency theft and cyber-espionage campaigns.

The annual threat assessment report last year from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence stated that "North Korea's cyber program poses a growing espionage, theft, and attack threat. North Korea has conducted cyber theft against financial institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges worldwide, potentially stealing hundreds of millions of dollars, probably to fund government priorities, such as its nuclear and missile programs."

Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis in a report earlier this year said that North Korean threat groups stole more than $400 million in digital assets in seven attacks in 2021, in attacks against investment firms and cryptocurrency exchanges.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2022/07/27/north_korea_us_reward/