North Korean IT professionals are stepping up their attempts to be hired by Western companies, using US intermediaries, stolen identities and increasingly sophisticated recruitment schemes. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation warns about this.
According to the FBI, North Koreans are paying people in the United States to conceal their identities and locations while working remotely for American companies. The funds obtained in this way support the North Korean government, including its nuclear and military programs.
Intermediaries provide access to company devices
The network includes people who help candidates get hired, attend interviews on their behalf, verify their identities, or connect to the Internet on employer-provided laptops. In some cases, intermediaries provide access to their own social media and professional platforms, host company devices in their homes, or pass background checks on behalf of another person.
“These actions are illegal, and engaging in them puts individuals at risk of law enforcement investigation,“ the FBI emphasizes.
The device schemes are known as “laptop farms“. The intermediary keeps the computer in his home while the North Korean worker connects to it remotely. This makes it appear to the employer that the employee is working from the US. According to the bureau, the organizers are already distributing the laptops in multiple locations to reduce the risk of the entire operation being disrupted if one address is revealed.
They use fake stories and fake identities
The FBI points out that North Korean IT specialists are increasingly targeting people in financial difficulties and offering them money to perform individual tasks. To lend legitimacy to their requests, they use fictional biographies, fictitious companies and false documents.
In some cases, they pose as citizens of China or other East Asian countries who are temporarily residing in the US. Others claim to be Eastern Europeans displaced by the war between Russia and Ukraine. The schemes also involve freelancers, often from India, Pakistan and Nigeria, who apply for jobs or appear for interviews instead of the actual contractor.
Stolen personal information remains a key element of the operations. Application profiles are created with other people's data, and access to corporate systems can allow sensitive personal or company information to be obtained. The FBI warns that employers should not rely on a single tip, but should combine identity checks, access restrictions and constant monitoring throughout the hiring process.
Signals of threats and extortion
According to the FBI, some North Korean workers have threatened former managers and their families after termination of employment. In other cases, they have demanded additional payments, threatening to reveal sensitive company data, publish inside information or damage the company's reputation.
The bureau also reports cases in which US-based intermediaries have been sent to companies or homes of people running "laptop farms" to intimidate them. The warning is aimed at both employers and citizens who accept money in exchange for providing an address, profile, device or access to their personal accounts.
Sources: news.bg