Tornado Cash linked to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program in revised U.S. sanctions

Tornado Cash has been given reissued sanctions by the U.S. Treasury Department to reflect the cryptocurrency mixer service's role in helping North Korean state-sponsored hacking group Lazarus Group launder more than $455 million, as well as supporting North Korea's weapons of mass destruction program, reports The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future. North Korea's growing dependence on cybercrime and other illicit acts for revenue generation, as well as its WMD procurement program are being targeted by the reissued sanctions, according to Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson. "The use of Tornado Cash to launder stolen funds represents a larger trend by the DPRK regime to resort to illicit activities, including cyber-enabled heists from virtual currency exchanges and financial institutions, to generate revenue for its unlawful WMD and ballistic missile programs. The United States is committed to countering the regimes attempts to raise funds through illicit activity and will continue to take actions against entities facilitating such activity," said State Department spokesperson Ned Price.