North Korean hackers are infiltrating high-profile US-based tech firms through scams. Recently, they have even advanced their tactics, according to the experts. In a recent investigation by Microsoft, the company has requested its peers to enforce stronger pre-employment verification measures and make policies to stop unauthorized IT management tools.
Further investigation by the US government revealed that these actors were working to steal money for the North Korean government and use the funds to run its government operations and its weapons program.
US imposes sanctions against North Korea
The US has imposed strict sanctions on North Korea, which restrict US companies from hiring North Korean nationals. It has led to threat actors making fake identities and using all kinds of tricks (such as VPNs) to obscure their real identities and locations. This is being done to avoid getting caught and get easily hired.
Recently, the threat actors have started using spoof tactics such as voice-changing tools and AI-generated documents to appear credible. In one incident, the scammers somehow used an individual residing in New Jersey, who set up shell companies to fool victims into believing they were paying a legitimate local business. The same individual also helped overseas partners to get recruited.
DoJ arrests accused
The clever campaign has now come to an end, as the US Department of Justice (DoJ) arrested and charged a US national called Zhenxing “Danny” Wanf with operating a “year-long” scam. The scheme earned over $5 million. The agency also arrested eight more people - six Chinese and two Taiwanese nationals. The arrested individuals are charged with money laundering, identity theft, hacking, sanctions violations, and conspiring to commit wire fraud.
In addition to getting paid in these jobs, which Microsoft says is a hefty payment, these individuals also get access to private organization data. They exploit this access by stealing sensitive information and blackmailing the company.
Lazarus group behind such scams
One of the largest and most infamous hacking gangs worldwide is the North Korean state-sponsored group, Lazarus. According to experts, the gang extorted billions of dollars from the Korean government through similar scams. The entire campaign is popular as “Operation DreamJob”.
"To disrupt this activity and protect our customers, we’ve suspended 3,000 known Microsoft consumer accounts (Outlook/Hotmail) created by North Korean IT workers," said Microsoft.
.webp "New Report Reveals Hackers Now Aim for Money, Not Chaos")
.webp "New Report Reveals Hackers Now Aim for Money, Not Chaos")
