The United States has sanctioned a North Korean cyber operative for illegal activities related to the Andariel hacking group, which is associated with the North Korean regime.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced on Tuesday that it imposed sanctions on a "malicious cyber actor" named Song Kum-hyok, along with another individual and four companies based in North Korea and Russia. 

Song is accused of facilitating an IT worker scheme in which North Koreans and others working from China and Russia are given false American identities to secure remote jobs with U.S. companies and generate revenue for North Korea.

The Treasury said that in some cases, these workers planted malware into company networks for additional exploitation.  

Those sanctioned will face asset freezes in the U.S. and be banned from travel to the country or conducting business with Americans individuals or entities.