Thousands of IT workers who worked remotely for American companies secretly sent their salaries to North Korea. These funds were used in the ballistic missile production program.
This was announced by representatives of the FBI and the US Department of Justice, writes AP.
The Ministry of Justice said that these people used false documents to get positions.
Court documents say that the North Korean government sent thousands of IT professionals to live in China and Russia. Their goal was to mislead companies from the US and other countries into hiring North Koreans for remote work.
According to FBI Special Agent in Charge Jay Greenberg in St. Louis, the employees pretended to work in the United States, including paying Americans to use their home Wi-Fi.
"We can tell you that thousands of IT workers from North Korea are involved," the FBI said.
IT workers sent millions of dollars each year to North Koreaʼs weapons programs. In some cases, North Koreans hacked into computer networks and stole information from the companies that hired them. The names of these companies are not made public.
Federal authorities announced the seizure of $1.5 million and 17 domain names as part of the investigation.
FBI officials warned that companies should be especially vigilant about who they hire, including requiring candidates to be present, at least by video link.
- In May 2022, the State Department, the Treasury Department, and the FBI issued warnings about North Koreans trying to "obtain jobs by posing as non-DPRK nationals." The report notes that in recent years, Kim Jong-unʼs regime "has paid increased attention to IT-related education."
- According to the Nikkei publication, from 2017 to the end of 2022, North Korea stole $2.3 billion in cryptocurrency from companies in various countries. Japan ($721 million) accounted for most of this amount, followed by Vietnam ($540 million), the United States ($497 million) and Hong Kong ($281 million).