North Koreans worked remote IT jobs to finance weapons programs

It's Monday, October 23, 2023.

The United States Justice Department says North Korean nationals have been working remotely for US companies, using fake IDs. The money they make is apparently being funneled to fund weapons of mass destruction programs. At a news conference in St. Louis, Missouri, the FBI alleged that thousands of individuals have moved to countries such as Russia and China and posed as freelance IT workers living in the US.

They used false information for emails, payment platforms and websites — sometimes even paying Americans to use their Wi-Fi and setting up proxy computers from those connections. The money being made here was substantial, too. The FBI has apparently collected around $1.5 million in money earned by these workers during previously sealed seizures in October 2022 and January 2023.

– Mat Smith

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