South Korean Government Blacklist Member Of Lazarus Hacking Group

A number of members of the North Korean hacker group Lazarus were supervised by the South Korean government. (Photo; Doc. Gizmodo)

JAKARTA North Korean hacker Lazarus Group has returned to the international spotlight after the South Korean government announced sanctions against individuals involved in illegal activities in cyberspace. On Tuesday 26 December, the names of Park Heung-ryong, Yoon Jeong-sik, Ri Il-jin, and Kim Gyeong-il were officially blacklisted by the state.

The three of them are members of the 313rd General Bureau under the North Korea Workers' Armed Industry Department, which is often associated with hacking by the Lazarus group.

Lazarus is known as a North Korean hacker group responsible for the huge theft of crypto assets on various global platforms.

The 313rd Bureau is known to frequently send North Korean IT personnel abroad, including to China and Russia, disguised themselves as IT workers. According to Chainalysis reports, they stole $1.3 billion worth of digital assets throughout 2023, allegedly used for weapons program funding, including nuclear missiles.

One of the figures, Kim Cheol-min, works in secret at US and Canadian companies, sending large earnings to Pyongyang. The US government has also indicted Kim Ryu-seong for years of sanctions violations.

To counter this threat, South Korea and the US are working together to develop crypto asset tracking technology and prevent money laundering.

The project is supported by the Ministry of Science of South Korea until 2026 and involves the University of Korea and the RAND Corporation. This effort is expected to significantly reduce the threat from North Korean hackers.