A Mississauga man has pleaded guilty to one charge of money laundering for three North Korean hackers who allegedly participated in the massive Sony Pictures hack in 2014.
According to the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Ghaleb Alaumary “organized conspiratorial teams in the United States and Canada to launder millions of dollars obtained through ATM cash withdrawals, including from BankIslami and a bank in India in 2018. “
The Justice Department also alleges that Alaumary “conspired with Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, also known as ‘Ray Hushpuppi,’ and others to launder funds from a North Korean cyber heist from a Maltese bank in February 2019.”
Alaumary is said to have acted on behalf of three North Korean hackers, Jon Chang Hyok, Kim Il, and Park Jin Hyok, who allegedly carried out the 2014 cyberattack against Sony Pictures in retaliation for their North Korean-themed parody film. The interview, which was co-written, co-directed, and co-starred by Vancouver-born actor Seth Rogen.
US officials say the three hackers also allegedly tried to steal close to $ 1.2 billion (about $ 1.5 billion Canadian) from major banks around the world and developed the ‘WannaCry ransomware. 2.0 ‘to infect computer networks. In particular, the WannaCry attacks even targeted the Ontario transit agency Metrolinx in 2018.
If convicted of money laundering, Alaumary faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. In Georgia, he also faces charges related to his alleged involvement in a separate commercial email compromise scheme.
Image Credit: Sony Pictures
Via: CP24
