US to Charge North Korea for Sony Breach, WannaCry

The Department of Justice is preparing to charge North Korean hackers for the 2014 Sony cyberattack and WannaCry, the May 2017 global ransomware campaign, US officials report.

A New York Times report on the indictment states the US government has long had the suspect, North Korean spy Pak Jin-hyok, on its radar. Intelligence officials believe Pak worked with the North Korea Reconnaissance General Bureau, the country's equivalent to the CIA and the same organization believed to be responsible for both WannaCry and Bangladesh bank thefts.

The indictment was delayed, the New York Times continues, because much of the incriminating information officials wanted to leverage against Pak was classified and could not be used.

In a separate report, Reuters implies the DoJ will charge multiple North Korean hackers for both the Sony and WannaCry attacks. It also states the charges are part of a US government strategy to prevent future cyberattacks by publicly identifying the alleged threat actors.

Read more details here.

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