Amazon’s security chief warns of a surge in North Koreans using fake identities to secure remote IT jobs, a scheme generating millions for Pyongyang.
SEOUL: Amazon has blocked more than 1,800 North Koreans from applying for jobs at the company amid a campaign by Pyongyang to send IT workers abroad to earn and launder money.
The tech giant’s Chief Security Officer, Stephen Schmidt, stated in a LinkedIn post that these workers have been trying to secure remote IT jobs with companies worldwide, especially in the United States.
He reported that Amazon saw a nearly one-third increase in such applications over the past year.
Schmidt explained that the applicants typically use “laptop farms,” which involve a computer physically located in the US being operated remotely from another country.
He warned this widespread problem “isn’t Amazon-specific” and “is likely happening at scale across the industry.”
According to Schmidt, red flags include incorrectly formatted phone numbers and suspicious academic credentials.
In a related case last July, a woman in Arizona was sentenced to over eight years in prison for operating a laptop farm that helped North Korean IT workers get remote jobs at more than 300 US firms.
US officials said that scheme generated more than $17 million in revenue for her and for North Korea.
South Korea’s intelligence agency also warned last year that North Korean operatives used LinkedIn to pose as recruiters and target South Koreans at defence companies to steal technology information.
