North Korean restaurants in Laos shift focus to support hacking amid UN sanctions

North Korean restaurants remain open in Laos despite UN sanctions requiring their closure by 2019. There were once 130 across Asia but now only about 17 remain.
The restaurants provided revenue for North Korea but now generate little income. Their role may be shifting to support illicit cyber activities.
North Korean IT workers in China, Russia and Laos conduct hacking and theft, earning millions that get laundered back to Pyongyang.
Experts believe restaurants help launder funds and serve as bases for IT workers, whose cybercrimes have become a lifeline for North Korea.
Weak sanctions enforcement by China and Russia has allowed North Korean cyber operations to grow, overshadowing traditional revenue sources.

North Korean restaurants remain open in Laos despite UN sanctions requiring their closure by 2019. There were once 130 across Asia but now only about 17 remain.
The restaurants provided revenue for North Korea but now generate little income. Their role may be shifting to support illicit cyber activities.
North Korean IT workers in China, Russia and Laos conduct hacking and theft, earning millions that get laundered back to Pyongyang.
Experts believe restaurants help launder funds and serve as bases for IT workers, whose cybercrimes have become a lifeline for North Korea.
Weak sanctions enforcement by China and Russia has allowed North Korean cyber operations to grow, overshadowing traditional revenue sources.