The U.S. sanctioned three North Korean state-sponsored groups that it says were responsible for hacking the Swift interbank messaging system and a ransomware attack called WannaCry 2.0 that crippled Britain's National Health Service and Renault SA factories across Europe.

The Treasury Department said Friday the hacking groups are commonly known as Lazarus Group, Bluenoroff and Andariel. The groups are controlled by North Korea's primary intelligence bureau, Treasury said in a statement.

The U.S. said the attacks have been used to fund illicit weapon and missile programs by North Korea, which is under broad American sanctions over the hermit country's nuclear program.