US busts yet another North Korean cybercrime ring

The Department of Justice (DoJ) has coordinated a takedown of yet another North Korean cybercrime ring that focuses on obtaining remote IT jobs to fund the regime.

US authorities have taken action against the rising threat of North Korean cybercrime rings that use remote IT employment to fund the North Korean regime.

The action taken by US authorities resulted in two indictments, one arrest, the seizure of 29 financial accounts, and searches of 29 suspected laptop farms.

North Korean IT workers typically use stolen identities to gain remote jobs in the US. The operation found that North Korean threat actors were employed in over 100 companies in the US.

But they didn’t do this alone – North Korean hackers were aided by people in China, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, and Taiwan.

During the crackdown, authorities were able to arrest a US national Zhenxing “Danny” Wang of New Jersey, who has been accused of generating more than $5 million for North Korea by gaining employment in US companies.

Wang did this by stealing the identities of more than 80 people in the US to gain employment in more than 100 companies, including various Fortune 500 organizations.

This scheme wasn’t orchestrated by Wang alone as multiple other people from China and Taiwan were also charged for their roles.

These people are accused of setting up shell companies, hosting laptop farms, and laundering money, all to aid the North Korean government.

Furthermore, those employed within this scheme stole sensitive information and source code, which included International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) data from a Californian defense contractor focused on developing artificial intelligence tools and technologies.

At the same time, the FBI and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) seized 17 domains and 29 financial accounts, which were said to hold tens of thousands of dollars, dedicated to laundering money for the North Korean regime.

As part of the takedown, Cybernews reported that Kim Kwang Jin, Kang Tae Bok, Jong Pong Ju, and Chang Nam have been accused of stealing and laundering more than $900,000 in crypto assets after tricking their employers into hiring them.

The FBI also searched 21 areas across 14 states suspected of hosting laptop farms.

Laptop farms are collections of multiple computers that can be accessed remotely. North Korean hackers use laptop farms to impersonate freelance workers and gain information, usually about tech companies.

These laptop farms also act as remote workers, allowing North Korean hackers to funnel money into the state without being detected.

The takedown is the latest in a line of law enforcement actions focused on dismantling intricate North Korean IT job schemes.