US Agencies Warn of Hiring North Korean IT Workers Online

U.S. government agencies have issued a warning about hiring North Korean IT workers and published a fact sheet on how to identify them.

The United States Treasury and other agencies posted the fact sheet offering detailed information on how North Korean IT workers operate, providing red flag indicators and due diligence measures. 

The goal is to ensure that North Korea does not circumvent sanctions imposed on them, as well as to prevent theft of intellectual property.

The U.S. says that the country has dispatched thousands of highly skilled IT workers who are earning revenue and contributing to its nuclear weapons program. 

U.S. says workers abuse freelancing platforms

The list of violations that these workers commit includes abusing freelance work platforms to obtain IT development contracts under false information. 

These workers may also be developing applications that include cryptocurrencies. And among the red flag indicators, it notes if the individual asks for payment in cryptocurrency, it could be linked to a North Korean IT worker. 

U.S. officials call for verification of banking information, which crypto generally does not mandate.

Insiders have also said that North Korea is prioritizing crypto. DeFiance Capital founder Arthur Cheong has said that North Korean hackers have been using sophisticated methods to target crypto companies.

North Korea’s use of cryptocurrency and involvement in hacks has been the subject of much debate, and many countries have been keen on preventing this. The $615 million Ronin Bridge heist earlier this year was believed to be linked to North Korean hackers.

It has been estimated that North Korea has stolen more than $1.7 billion from crypto exchanges through hacks. 

There have been individuals in the West who have also run into trouble for links to North Korea. Former Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith was found guilty of aiding North Korea in evading sanctions and sentenced to more than five years in U.S. federal prison.