The move is against Pyongyang’s efforts to gather money amid economic sanctions.
US warns against hiring North Korean employees. The United States has warned the IT companies not to hire North Korean IT workers who are trying to get remote jobs by hiding their real identities. The officials have associated such an act to gather money for Pyongyang.
According to the statement, most of the IT workers from North Korea are pretending to be from different parts of Asia. This statement is backed by three US government agencies. It is suspected that these workers are pretending so they can fund North Korea’s programs of collecting nuclear weapons that are in pure violation of the international laws. Not to forget that the country in question has tested many missile tests in recent months.
North Korea, in March, tested an intercontinental ballistic missile that is banned. These tests were done for the first time since 2017. The North Korean DRPK has dispatched thousands of highly skilled IT workers worldwide to gather revenue that is becoming a key source of funding for its ballistic missile programs and weapons of mass destruction. These matters are illegal and are violating the UN and US sanctions against the country. Three major US departments, including the FBI and US treasury department, issued this information in a joint statement this week.
The statement further added that the workers are living in North Korea and other countries, including Russia and China. A few of them are believed to be from Africa and some parts of South-East Asia. The departments further added that these workers are taking advantage of the current market demand for IT skills that encompass demands like mobile application and software development and are getting these works more on freelancing contracts from global clients. The employing countries include Europe, the US, and East Asia.
North Korea’s IT Industry
Although the IT worker of DPRK normally engages in unsuspected usual IT work that doesn’t indicate any cyber-security concerns. Due to a great disguise technique, they have been able to gain access to privileged levels as contractors that may result in malicious cyber intrusions in the future.
It has also been made clear that the companies that are hiring these employees may face legal charges for violating the sanctions laid by the US and UN. The previous month, North Korea was linked to many hackers who were responsible for a massive heist in the cryptocurrency that amounted to $615million. The hack was done through Axie, a popular online game.
Last month in April, a former researcher from the US was imprisoned for five years for trying to help North Korea in evading the US sanctions. The convict was working at Ethereum Foundation which was focusing on the technology backing the ether cryptocurrency.
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He pleaded to be guilty to conspiring against the US International Emergency Economic Powers Act for traveling to the North Korean capital Pyongyang. He went to give a presentation on blockchain technology. The Ethereum Foundation at that time stated that the arrest of Griffith, the person in question, had not been yet approved or supported travelling to North Korea.
