The U.S. State Department announced that North Korean hacker Lim Jong Hyuk, associated with the North Korean hacking group Andariel, is wanted.
On the 25th, the AP News reported that the Kansas federal prosecutor indicted North Korean hacker Lim Jong Hyuk through a grand jury.
It is believed that Lim is currently in North Korea, and the State Department has offered a $10 million bounty for any information regarding his whereabouts.
Lim is accused of being involved in cyberattacks by the North Korean hacking group on 17 organizations across 11 U.S states., including health insurance companies, NASA, and Air Force bases.
U.S. federal prosecutor investigation revealed that over three months, more than 17 gigabytes of classified data were stolen from NASA’s computer systems. Also, 30 gigabytes of aviation-related information were extracted from defense contractors’ computer systems in Michigan, California, and Air Force bases in Texas and Georgia.
Moreover, a hospital reported to the police after paying $100,000 worth of Bitcoin as a cyberattack leaked patient information. A health insurance company in Colorado also paid a ransom following a ransomware attack.
Prosecutors believe Lim hired money launderers to clean illegal funds, which he then used to set up computer servers to launch cyberattacks against global defense, technology, and government institutions.
On that day, the U.S. State Department announced the offer of up to $10 million under the Rewards for Justice program for providing information on Lim Jong Hyuk.
The State Department stated that they would reward up to $10 million for information about the identification or location of individuals conducting malicious cyber activities against critical U.S. infrastructure under the direction or control of a foreign government.
