US Offers $10M Reward for Information on North Korean Hacker

The US Division of Justice has unsealed an indictment of a North Korean navy intelligence operative focusing on US important infrastructure.

The person, Rom Jong Hyok, allegedly carried out ransomware assaults in opposition to healthcare amenities and funneled the ransom funds to rearrange different breaches into protection, know-how, and authorities organizations globally, in violation of the Laptop Fraud and Abuse Act, in line with the indictment.

The ransom funds had been laundered by means of Hong Kong, the place they had been transformed into Chinese language yuan, withdrawn from an ATM, after which used to buy digital personal servers with a purpose to exfiltrate delicate protection and know-how data. 

Hyok is a part of a hacking crew generally known as Andariel (aka APT45, Nickel Hyatt, Onyx Sleet, Silent Chollima, Stonefly, and TDrop2) and is allegedly behind cyberattacks involving a ransomware pressure coined “Maui,” which was focusing on organizations within the US and Japan way back to 2022. The group makes use of this ransomware in opposition to healthcare suppliers’ techniques and servers used for medical testing or digital medical information.

Andariel is managed by DPRK’s navy intelligence company, the Reconnaissance Common Bureau, which is concerned within the DPRK’s illicit arms commerce and chargeable for its malicious cyber acts.

“This group poses an ongoing risk to varied business sectors worldwide, together with, however not restricted to, entities in the USA, South Korea, Japan, and India,” stated the Nationwide Safety Company. 

The US Division of State’s Rewards for Justice (RFJ) introduced a reward of as much as $10 million for data that might result in the whereabouts of Rim Jong Hyok, Andariel, or co-conspirators.