US Tech Sector Unknowingly Funding North Korea's Weapons Program Through Fake Hires: Report

The US tech sector is inadvertently funding North Korea's nuclear and missile programs through a growing scam involving fake hires, a recent report reveals.

Thousands of North Korean citizens, posing as American software engineers, have been hired by top companies, funneling their salaries back to Kim Jong Un's regime to support illegal weapons development.

According to estimates from the US Treasury, State Department, and FBI, this scam has generated hundreds of millions of dollars annually since 2018.

The operation primarily targets Fortune 500 companies, with many companies unknowingly hiring North Korean workers who use stolen identities to secure positions, Fortune said.

Harrison Leggio, founder of the crypto startup g8keep, described how nearly 95% of applicants for his company's open positions were actually North Koreans impersonating Americans.

Leggio even recalled interviewing one fake applicant who falsely claimed to have worked at the same cryptocurrency exchange as him. When Leggio pointed out inconsistencies in the applicant's story, the deception was revealed.

To combat this, Leggio now requests that job candidates speak negatively about Kim Jong Un before agreeing to an interview.

"The first time I ever did it, the person started freaking out and cursing," Leggio said, adding that such a reaction is a clear sign the applicant is from North Korea, where criticizing the leader is forbidden.

North Korea's IT Scam Nets Up to $600 Million Annually for Nuclear Program

Experts estimate that North Korea's IT worker scam has brought in between $250 million and $600 million per year, fueling the country's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.

According to Yahoo, the scheme operates in countries like China and Russia, where North Korean workers create fake resumes using AI and stolen identities to apply for jobs at major companies.

Once hired, they work remotely while sending most of their earnings back to North Korea.

Michael Barnhart, an intelligence expert at Google Cloud, explained the scale of the operation, noting that the IT workers often use VPNs and AI to conceal their identities, allowing them to take on multiple jobs at once.

Some North Koreans have even set up fake recruiting firms to act as intermediaries between job seekers and tech companies, making it harder for businesses to detect the fraud.

The consequences of this scam are dire. The FBI has warned that the money from these fake jobs is funneled into North Korea's nuclear weapons program and other illegal activities, including cyber espionage and data theft.

"There are criminals who steal your money to get yachts, but in this case, your money isn't going to a Lamborghini—it's going back to fund nuclear munitions," said Barnhart.

As cybersecurity experts and tech companies work to root out these fraudulent workers, they face an ongoing challenge.

Last year, cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike reported more than 300 incidents involving North Korean IT workers, and experts predict that the situation will worsen in 2025 as the scheme spreads across Europe and Asia.

To combat this growing issue, experts suggest stronger identity verification systems and better training for HR teams to spot suspicious candidates.

Originally published on vcpost.com