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(Image credit: Getty Images ) Share Share by: Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Flipboard Share this article Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Amazon Chief Security Officer Stephen Schmidt said the company has blocked more than 1,800 suspected North Korean applicants from joining the tech giant. Schmidt states in his LinkedIn post that this is the number of profiles his team has intercepted since April 2024, with attempts increasing by 27% quarterly this year alone. Amazon uses AI to screen profiles and check for anomalies, which are then verified by human operators. “Our AI model analyzes connections to nearly 200 high-risk institutions, anomalies across applications, and geographic inconsistencies,” the Amazon CSO wrote. “We verify identities through background checks, credential verification, and structured interviews.”
Despite being a tightly controlled country with most of its citizens having no access to the internet, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has a highly skilled IT workforce in its employment. However, instead of serving local needs, the North Korean regime uses its skills to gain funding, especially as the country is still an international pariah with heavy economic sanctions meted against it. This has become easier in recent years as the popularity of remote work has made it easier for anyone to pose as a United States citizen and apply for a job — in fact, CrowdStrike has investigated over 320 incidents last year , with many of them using AI to create fake profiles.
As more companies become aware of this technique, Pyongyang is changing tactics and now using stolen identities to apply for jobs. They would often target dormant LinkedIn accounts of actual IT workers and software engineers and use them for their application. They also work with U.S.-based persons to set up laptop farms, so that the hardware that companies send over, especially those with tracking systems, will remain in the U.S. while North Korean workers remotely access the computer. In fact, several people have already been convicted of this, and over 240 companies have been victimized by this scam. Notably, Amazon recently busted one North Korean contract worker after spotting abnormally high keystroke lag .
North Korean infiltrator caught working in Amazon IT department thanks to lag
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/north-korean-applicants-flood-amazon-over-1-800-suspected-illicit-applicants-blocked-by-the-company-since-april-2024#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
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Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.