CRDF Global to Implement Capacity Building, Training, and Sustainability Projects in Support of Global Affairs Canada’s Threat Reduction Program
CRDF Global has received over $1M USD in funding from Global Affairs Canada (GAC) to implement four projects that address vulnerabilities to and strengthen defenses against the illicit cybercrime and sanctions evasion activities that North Korea undertakes to fund its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and missile proliferation programs.
“The DPRK’s nuclear and missile programs pose one of the greatest threats to international peace and security. Development of these programs is steadily advancing towards the DPRK’s stated aim of diversifying its arsenal and being able to target North America. Cybercrime and cryptocurrency money laundering represent lucrative revenue streams that the DPRK uses to finance its WMD programs. International collaboration is vital to enhance cyber security awareness and sanctions enforcement capabilities in at-risk industries and governments to better protect private and public sector systems from this evolving threat,” said Chris Grout, Project Leader with GAC’s Weapons Threat Reduction Program Division/Global Affairs Canada.
“CRDF Global’s training and capacity-building programs are designed by our team of counterproliferation experts in collaboration with external partners with whom we have established trusted relationships,” said CRDF Global President and COO Tina Dolph. “I’m particularly proud to build upon one of our signature initiatives of supporting women in science and security with a fellowship that promotes women in the field of nonproliferation. We are honored to support GAC and many other funders in creating robust programming that supports the inclusion and promotion of women in these fields.”
The four project activities to be implemented by CRDF Global in 2024 include:
- A workshop to be held in Southeast Asia for central bank officials and financial supervisors on North Korea’s exploitation of cryptocurrencies to evade proliferation finance sanctions. Two webinars to be hosted for key stakeholders at healthcare facilities in Southeast Asia on cybersecurity capacity building for critical infrastructure to prevent DPRK cyberattacks and ransomware.
- Four webinars to be held, with the Association of Certified Sanctions Compliance Specialists (ACFCS), to provide capacity-building remote engagements for compliance officers at banks and financial institutions around the globe to identify and prevent tactics deployed by North Korea to generate revenue for its WMD and missile program.
- A fellowship designed to build networks among women working in nuclear security and nonproliferation, to share best practices and experiences to ultimately decrease the gender gap in the global nonproliferation workforce.
Since 2018, CRDF Global has served as a proud implementing partner of GAC, working in support of Canada’s commitment to the G7 Global Partnership Against the Spread of the Weapons of Mass Destruction process.
