The Australian government has imposed sanctions and travel bans on four entities and one individual accused of funding North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction program.

Australia's foreign ministry said in a statement Thursday that it had sanctioned North Korea’s state-sponsored Lazarus criminal group and hacker Park Jin-hyok over a ransomware attack that forced Australian victims to pay North Korea in cryptocurrency to access their own computer files.  

The groups Kimsuky, Andariel and Chosun Expo were also sanctioned for targeting international health systems, nuclear power companies and think tanks. 

All of these entities are also subject to sanctions by South Korean and U.S. authorities.

Citing a recent report by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team, the Australian government said that North Korean digital actors had stolen at least one-point-nine billion dollars in cryptocurrency from companies around the world in 2024, using a global network of North Korean nationals and foreign facilitators to launder the assets.

It added that North Korean officials used cryptocurrencies to sell and transfer military equipment and raw munition materials such as copper.

"The Australian government is taking this action with the United States to apply pressure on North Korea’s illegal revenue generation networks and address its persistent challenges to security and stability,” the ministry said.

The government also encouraged all Australians to be vigilant about their cybersecurity and be aware that payments to entities and individuals listed under Australia’s autonomous sanctions could result in action by law enforcement agencies.