US claims North Korea put workers in US companies

13/12/2024 6:10

The United States on

Thursday offered a $5 million reward for information about an

alleged scheme in which North Korean technology workers got

jobs at unsuspecting U.S. companies then stole their trade

secrets for ransom, with the proceeds used to fund Pyongyang's

weapons programs.



The U.S. State Department said about 130 North Korean

workers got IT jobs at U.S. companies and nonprofits from 2017

to 2023 and generated at least $88 million that Pyongyang used

for weapons of mass destruction.



Part of the total was the workers' compensation from the

employers, which ultimately went to the North Korean government,

the U.S. said. The companies were not identified.



The North Korea mission to the United Nations in New York

did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



The State Department said in a statement it sought

information on two sanctioned North Korean companies --

China-based Yanbian Silverstar Network Technology and

Russia-based Volasys Silverstar -- that it said handled the

workers.



The U.S. Department of Justice separately on Thursday

announced indictments of 14 North Koreans accused of operating

and working for the two companies as part of the scheme.



Operating from either China or Russia, the workers stole

sensitive company information, including proprietary source

computer code, and threatened to leak it unless the employer

made an extortion payment, the government said.



The 14 people were charged with wire fraud, money laundering

and identity theft among other offenses.



"To prop up its brutal regime, the North Korean government

directs IT workers to gain employment through fraud, steal

sensitive information from U.S. companies and siphon money back

to the DPRK," Deputy U.S. Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a

statement, using an acronym for the North Korean state.



The people and their unnamed associates used the stolen

identities of hundreds of Americans to get hired under the

scheme, the government said.



People in the U.S. aided the scheme by purchasing laptops or

receiving laptops from U.S. employers for the fraudulent

workers. The Justice Department has obtained indictments of

Americans accused of operating so-called laptop farms in recent

months.



One North Korean IT defector told Reuters in November

2023 that he would try to get hired and then create additional

fake social media profiles to secure more jobs.