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Washington: The US Treasury has cut some of the North Korean regime's access to funds by announcing sanctions on three hacking groups it said were involved in the "WannaCry" ransomware attacks and hacking of bank accounts and online gambling sites.
It named the groups as Lazarus Group, Bluenoroff and Andariel, and said they were controlled by the RGB, North Korea's primary intelligence bureau, which is already subject to US and United Nations sanctions.
Employees watch electronic boards to monitor possible WannaCry ransomware cyber attacks at the Korea Internet and Security Agency in Seoul, South Korea.Credit:AP
It stated the Lazarus Group was involved in the WannaCry ransomware attack that the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom publicly attributed to North Korea in December 2017.
It said WannaCry affected at least 150 countries and shut down about 300,000 computers, including many in Britain's National Health Service. The NHS attack led to the cancellation of more than 19,000 appointments and ultimately cost the service more than $US112 million, the biggest known ransomware attack in history.