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(Image credit: Getty Images) The U.S. Department of Justice just announced that it has convicted five individuals, including four U.S. citizens and one Ukrainian national, for facilitating the illegal employment of North Korean IT workers at American companies. According to its press release , these people used their own identity or provided false or stolen identities to North Korean workers seeking employment with U.S.-based firms. They also hosted the company-provided laptops in locations across the United States. They used remote desktop software to give the illusion that the work was being done within its borders. All in all, the various schemes run by the subjects earned North Korea, formally known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or DPRK, at least $3 million in revenue.
“These actions demonstrate the Department’s comprehensive approach to disrupting North Korean efforts to finance their weapons program on the back of Americans,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said in a statement. “The Department will use every available tool to protect our nation from this regime’s depredations.”
The North Korean regime has been using the direct labor of its people to make money for the state. But because Pyongyang faces heavy sanctions from various nations, including the U.S., its workers need false identities to gain employment, especially in the U.S. Despite many seeing the DPRK as a state where most citizens lack access to the latest technology, it actually has an elite group of hackers. In fact, the FBI identified it as the source of the biggest crypto hack in history , and it’s already using artificial intelligence to help its agents get remote freelance jobs . Despite doing the remote work, the North Korean workers do not get the bulk of their wages; instead, the state uses the proceeds to help fund its various weapons programs.
Report says North Korea is also posting fake jobs to steal crypto
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/cyber-security/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/cyber-security/five-convicted-for-helping-north-korean-it-workers-pose-as-americans-and-secure-jobs-at-u-s-firms-over-240-companies-were-victimized-by-the-scam#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
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Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.