Meet the three North Korean hacking groups funding the country’s weapons programs

The Trump administration is sanctioning three North Korean hacking groups widely accused of carrying out attacks that targeted critical infrastructure and stole millions of dollars from banks in cryptocurrency exchanges, in part so the country could finance its weapons and missiles programs.

All three of the groups are controlled by North Korea’s primary intelligence agency, the Reconnaissance General Bureau, or RGB, officials with the US Department of Treasury said in a statement published on Friday. Collectively, the groups are behind a host of cyber attacks designed to spy on adversaries and generate revenue for nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.

“Treasury is taking action against North Korean hacking groups that have been perpetrating cyber attacks to support illicit weapon and missile programs,” Sigal Mandelker, Treasury under-secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in Friday’s statement. “We will continue to enforce existing US and UN sanctions against North Korea and work with the international community to improve cybersecurity of financial networks.”