North Koreans posing as tech job applicants pose security risks
North Korean citizens that are hiding their identities to try to get contract jobs in the global technology sector could pose security risks to a company’s operations, according to the United States (US) government.
In an advisory released by the FBI, Treasury Department, and State Department, the three agencies said that North Koreans are targeting “freelance contracts from employers located in wealthier nations, including those in North America, Europe, and East Asia.”
After the contract, the US advisory noted that the North Korean managers “use their outsourced employees to make software purchases and interact with customers in situations that might otherwise expose” them.
The ruse helps companies get around the hefty sanctions placed on Pyongyang for its nuclear weapons program to acquire goods and services from abroad.
The US government said that while some of the job-seekers aims to earn foreign exchange or to access virtual currency exchanges, the other half is helping Pyongyang — North Korea’s capital — to hack foreign companies.
The advisory added that hiring North Koreans “poses many risks, ranging from theft of intellectual property, data, and funds to reputational harm and legal consequences, including sanctions under both US and United Nations authorities.”
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