Breaking: US unseals charges against 3 North Korean hackers for their role in WannaCry ransomware, Sony hack, bank heists, and other cyberattacks.

Prosecutors also charged a Canadian who helped them launder money.

USG released advisory on their malware: https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ncas/alerts/aa21-048a

One of the three men charged was previously charged in connection with this activity in 2018: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/north-korean-regime-backed-programmer-charged-conspiracy-conduct-multiple-cyber-attacks-and

"The DPRK cyber threat has followed the money and turned its revenue-generation sights on the most cutting-edge aspects of international finance, including through the theft of cryptocurrency from exchanges and other financial institutions," AAG John Demers says on press call.

Demers: "Simply put, the [North Korean] regime has become a criminal syndicate with a flag, which harnesses its state resources to steal hundreds of millions of dollars."

The Canadian money launderer is in custody and has pled guilty, Demers says.

Demers on new joint CISA/FBI/Treasury advisory on North Korea's cryptocurrency malware: "The context provided in today's indictment underscores the necessity of paying attention to this advisory and its recommendations."

Demers notes that North Korea occasionally sent its hackers to work out of China and Russia.

"The time is beyond ripe for Russia and China, as well as any other country whose entities or nationals play a role in the DPRK revenue-generation efforts, to take action," he says.

North Korean hackers indictment: https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1367701/download

Wanted posters:

https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1367706/download

https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1367711/download

https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1367716/download

Acting US Attorney Tracy Wilkison (CDCA): Today's indictment expands beyond Sony and WannaCry “to include entirely new types of schemes": cyber heists against banks, ATM cash-out schemes, ransomware extortion, and fake (infected) cryptocurrency apps.

The indictment also charges the North Koreans with setting up a blockchain-based scheme in which they tricked people into investing in marine vessels and then routed the money to their own accounts to evade sanctions.

Kristi Johnson, assistant director in charge of the FBI's LA Field Office: “This case is the perfect example of the destruction that can be caused by a cyberattack and the grave threat these attacks pose to our national security.”

“This case is like a 1,000-piece puzzle, but it’s spread out all over the map," says Jesse Baker, special agent in charge of the Secret Service's LA office. "In the beginning, the pieces are hard to connect, but you put a few together and eventually a clear picture emerges.”

Baker: "We continue to see a confluence of state and non-state actors in cybercrime. … These distinctions have really blurred."