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   Microsoft warns North Korean hackers are expanding fake job schemes - as Feds   
   announce further crackdown   
      
   Date:   
   Tue, 01 Jul 2025 15:26:00 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   Fake jobs and fake employees are everywhere, and are costing US companies   
   dearly.   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   North Korean hackers, scamming their way into US-based high-profile tech   
   companies, have lately been ramping up their efforts, security experts have   
   warned.    
      
   In a recent analysis , Microsoft urged its peers to implement stricter   
   pre-employment vetting measures, and create policies to block unapproved IT   
   management tools.    
      
   Further analysis from the US government found these people were working on   
   stealing money for the North Korean government, which then uses it to fund    
   its government apparatus and its weapons program.   
      
   Arresting the suspects    
      
   The US has imposed stiff sanctions on North Korea which, among other things,   
   prevent US companies from hiring North Korean nationals.    
      
   As a result, the adversaries have been creating fake personas and using all   
   sorts of tools (including VPNs), to hide their true identities and location,   
   and thus increase their chances of getting hired.    
      
   Lately, theyve increased their efforts and have started using voice-changing   
   software and AI-enhanced documents to boost their credibility.    
      
   Theyve also managed to use a person living in New Jersey, who opened up shell   
   companies to trick victims into thinking they were paying a local business.   
   That same person allegedly also helped their overseas peers get hired.    
      
   But the gig seems to be up, as the US Department of Justice (DoJ) arrested    
   and accused a US national named Zhenxing Danny Wang of running a years-long   
   scheme. The effort netted more than $5 million. Another eight people were   
   indicted as well - two Taiwanese and six Chinese nationals. They are all now   
   accused of conspiring to commit wire fraud, money laundering, identity theft    
   , hacking, and sanctions violations.    
      
   Besides actually being paid for the work done (which ironically, according to   
   Microsoft, is often stellar), these people also get access to sensitive   
   company data. They sometimes abuse this access by stealing the data and then   
   extorting the company.    
      
   One of the biggest and most destructive hacking collectives in the world is   
   the North Korean state-sponsored group Lazarus, which brought billions of   
   dollars to the government through similar schemes. In fact, the entire   
   operation even has a name - Operation DreamJob.    
      
    Via TechCrunch   
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/microsoft-warns-north-korean-hackers-ar   
   e-expanding-fake-job-schemes-as-feds-announce-crackdown   
      
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