The U.S. administration says North Korea was behind the WannaCry cyberattack this year that caused mayhem across the globe by infecting more tha 300,000 computers and causing billions of dollars’ worth of damage.

The accusation was made today by President Donald Trump’s Homeland Security Advisor, Thomas Bossert, whose medium was an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal. He claimed that North Korea was “directly responsible” for the attack, and that the department was not alone in coming to this conclusion.

“We do not make this allegation lightly,” Bossert wrote. “It is based on evidence…. The United Kingdom attributes the attack to North Korea, and Microsoft traced the attack to cyber affiliates of the North Korean government. The consequences and repercussions of WannaCry were beyond economic. The malicious software hit computers in the UK’s health-care sector particularly hard, compromising systems that perform critical work. These disruptions put lives at risk.”

Bossert said North Korea needs to be held accountable for these devastating attacks and the U.S. would continue to mount pressure on the regime, although he didn’t expressly say what that pressure would be. He called the country’s actions “egregious,” stating the cyberattack was “indiscriminately reckless.” Totalitarian governments must pay the price, he went on, adding that hackers too must face prison.

For its part, North Korea has denied any part in the attack, which disrupted the U.K. National Health Service and Russia’s postal service and cost FedEx an estimated $300 million, among thousands of other businesses in more than 150 countries. The North Korean government said prior to the recent announcement that any blame put on the country was a “wicked attempt” to foment more distrust toward the country and tighten sanctions. That claim came in October after U.K. officials had pointed the finger at Pyongyang.

North Korea has yet to respond to Bossert’s claim. It’s expected that the White House will issue a more formal statement tomorrow and will reveal evidence collected by itself, other governments and private cybersecurity firms on North Korea’s role in the attacks.

Image: Stephan via Flickr