Amazon blocks 1,800 job applications from suspected North Korean agents
A senior Amazon executive said the US tech giant blocked more than 1,800 job applications from suspected North Korean agents.
North Koreans are trying to apply for remote IT jobs using stolen or fake identities, Stephen Schmidt, Amazon’s security chief, said in a LinkedIn post.
“Their goals are often simple: hire, get paid, and funnel the wages back to fund the regime’s weapons programs,” he said, adding that this trend is likely to play out broadly across the industry, particularly in the United States.
Officials in the United States and South Korea have warned that Pyongyang’s operatives are committing online fraud.
Amazon saw a nearly one-third increase in job applications from North Koreans last year. Mr Schmidt said in his post:.
He said operators often work with people who manage “laptop farms,” meaning computers based in the U.S. that are operated remotely from outside the country.
He said the firm uses a combination of artificial intelligence (AI) tools and verification by its staff to screen job applicants.
Mr Schmidt said the strategies used by such fraudsters were becoming more sophisticated.
Bad actors are hijacking dormant LinkedIn accounts using leaked credentials to gain verification. He stated that they target real software engineers to appear trustworthy and called on companies to report suspicious job applications to the authorities.
Mr Schmidt warned employers to look out for indicators of fraudulent job applications in North Korea, including malformed phone numbers and incompatible educational backgrounds.
In June, the US government announced it had discovered 29 “laptop farms” operated illegally throughout the country By North Korean IT workers.
North Korean citizens are using Americans’ stolen or fake identities to help them find jobs in the United States, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said.
Also sued were U.S. brokers who helped provide business to North Korean operators.
A woman from Arizona in July sentenced to more than eight years in prison For running a laptop farm to help North Korean IT workers find remote jobs at more than 300 U.S. companies.
The Ministry of Justice said the scheme generated more than $17 million (£12.6 million) in illicit profits for itself and Pyongyang.
