USA: Workers from North Korea extort money from American companies
The United States has offered a $5 million reward for information about an alleged scam in which North Korean IT workers were hired by American companies and then had their trade secrets stolen by blackmail. The money raised was used to fund North Korea's weapons programs.
According to the State Department, about 130 North Korean workers landed IT jobs at US companies and nonprofits between 2017 and 2023, generating at least $88 million that ended up in Pyongyang's WMD development programs.
Part of these funds were wages paid by employers to workers, which eventually ended up in the hands of the North Korean government. The names of the companies that unwittingly employed these workers are not disclosed.
The State Department said in a statement that it is seeking information about two sanctioned North Korean companies – Yanbian Silverstar Network Technology, based in China and Volasys Silverstar, based in Russia – said to have coordinated the work of these workers.
The same day, the US Department of Justice announced charges against 14 North Koreans who allegedly worked for the two companies and participated in the fraud.
The workers, working out of China or Russia, stole sensitive information, including proprietary computer code, and threatened to release the data unless employers paid money. Among other things, the defendants received criminal charges for fraud, money laundering and identity theft.
"To maintain its brutal regime, the North Korean government directs IT workers to fraudulently gain employment, steal sensitive information from American companies and divert money back to North Korea," said US Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.
According to the statement, the defendants and their associates used the stolen identities of hundreds of Americans to gain employment as part of the scam.
Americans who bought laptops or received laptops from American employers for fake workers also helped in this fraud.
In recent months, the Ministry of Justice has brought charges against Americans who ran so-called "laptop farms", reports Reuters.
A former North Korean IT worker told Reuters in November 2023 that he would try to get a job and then create additional fake social media profiles to secure more jobs.
