A Wall Street Journal investigation reveals how North Korean operatives have infiltrated American companies to generate revenue for Kim Jong-un's regime through identity theft and remote tech jobs.
A recent investigation by The Wall Street Journal, led by correspondent Dasl Yun from Seoul, unveiled unprecedented details about a North Korean network specializing in identity theft and obtaining remote tech jobs within American and global companies. This operation has reportedly accrued hundreds of millions of dollars for the Kim Jong-un regime, highlighting a sophisticated cyber strategy.
Central to this investigation is Anton Kol, a recently defected North Korean software engineer who describes how he was recruited as part of a carefully selected digital elite trained to work abroad. Kol emphasizes that the primary goal of this operation was to obtain hard currency through any means possible, naming the United States as the 'big prize' due to its high salaries and the vulnerability of remote work setups, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the story unfolds, it details the existence of tightly packed rooms in China where a select group of North Korean programmers operated. During the peak of remote work, Kol notes that he communicated daily with numerous Americans, illustrating the extensive reach and ambition of this cyber unit sent abroad by the Kim regime to secure funding for its nuclear ambitions.
