U.S. Accuses North Korea of Cyber Schemes to Fund Regime
North Korean officials recently claimed that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is waging an “absurd smear campaign” against their country. This statement came after the DOJ revealed it had discovered multiple schemes orchestrated by North Korea to generate funds for the regime through remote IT work for American companies.
Earlier this week, the DOJ announced that North Korean actors, with assistance from individuals in the U.S., China, the United Arab Emirates, and Taiwan, had managed to secure jobs with over 100 American companies, including several Fortune 500 firms.
According to the DOJ, the scheme involved workers receiving laptops from the companies that hired them, which facilitated remote access for North Korean IT professionals. In one particular case, these workers allegedly used fake identities to gain employment with a blockchain company in Atlanta, Georgia, resulting in the theft of over $900,000 in virtual currency.
As a result of this investigation, a five-count indictment was unsealed against Zhenxing Wang, a U.S. citizen from New Jersey, who has since been arrested.
The DOJ reported that Wang and his accomplices generated over $5 million in revenue through these schemes. Alongside Wang, several Chinese and Taiwanese nationals were also indicted for their roles in the operations.
The North Korean state news agency reacted strongly, with a spokesperson for the country’s Foreign Ministry condemning the actions of the U.S. This official suggested that the U.S. judicial system was undermining North Korean citizens’ rights and was fabricating claims of a cyber threat, painting it as a continuation of hostile U.S. policies.
They argued that the accusations meant to create instability in international cyberspace, insisting that the real threat to cybersecurity comes from the U.S. itself. The spokesperson asserted that North Korea has every right to defend itself from what they view as unjust judicial actions by the U.S.
The indictment further states that over the period from 2021 to 2024, the conspirators compromised the identities of more than 80 American citizens to establish remote jobs at numerous companies. This resulted in significant financial losses for those companies, amounting to at least $3 million due to legal fees and other damages.
In addition to the indictment against North Korean nationals for cyber theft, the DOJ seized 17 websites and 29 financial accounts tied to this scheme, revealing an extensive operation aimed at funding the North Korean regime.
As investigations continue, this situation highlights the ongoing concerns regarding foreign cyber threats and the lengths to which some nations might go to fund their objectives.
