The United States, Japan, and South Korea are working together to fight cyber crime linked to North Korea. They just met officials from all three countries in Washington D.C. to discuss measures to prevent North Korea from employing illegal online activity in its weapons programmes.

The State Department says that the meeting took place on June 25 and 26. The efforts were primarily aimed at preventing large-scale thefts of cryptocurrency, money laundering, and online scams by North Korean entities.

Stopping Illegal Money Flow

North Korea is undertaking cyber attacks and digital thefts to raise funds for its nuclear and missile projects. The three countries also expressed each other’s friendship in protecting the security of the region and curbing these threats.

To achieve this, they plan to strictly enforce international sanctions and improve cooperation between law enforcement agencies across borders.

The financial damage from these cyber attacks is huge. A summary of the recent major hacks, with a total of $290 million stolen from KelpDAO and $285 million from Drift Protocol, was provided. 

As a result, all three countries are conducting awareness raising campaigns in Europe, Southeast Asia and Africa to alert people and businesses to these threats.

Tech Companies Also Join the Effort

Another issue that has captured the three governments’ interest is the booming business of North Korean IT workers. The workers are said to obtain employment opportunities at foreign firms using artificial intelligence (AI) and forged personal profiles.

Once hired, they may steal money, sensitive company data, or other valuable information.

The working group in order to address the issue convened a special meeting with large tech companies. Coinbase, Mandiant, Polymarket and Upwork experts provided valuable insights for businesses to recognize and prevent such scams.

This meeting takes place as crypto companies gain traction among governments. Polymarket instead is facing an investigation from U.S. regulators for violation of its marketing practices.

The three countries hope to make the digital world safer and minimize cyber threats in relation to North Korea by joint ventures with tech firms.