A woman in Arizona was sentenced Thursday to greater than 8 years in jail for orchestrating a posh fraud scheme to assist North Korean cyber operatives pose as Americans and procure distant IT jobs at a whole bunch of US firms, together with Fortune 500 firms.
The plot, described by the Department of Justice as one of many largest North Korean IT worker fraud schemes, used the stolen identities of 68 Americans, defrauded greater than 300 US companies and generated greater than $17 million in income –– funds that would profit the nuclear-armed North Korean regime, the division stated in a release.
Christina Chapman, 50, pleaded responsible in February after being accused of working a “laptop farm” from her house, the place she “received and hosted” company-issued computer systems on behalf of international IT employees to trick firms into believing the employees have been dwelling in the US.
She was charged with 9 counts, together with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identification theft.
In its assertion, the DOJ stated North Korea has deployed hundreds of extremely expert IT employees around the globe, together with to the US, to bypass controls employed by US firms to stop unlawful hirings by enlisting the help of US-based collaborators.
The DOJ stated Chapman shipped 49 laptops and different gadgets to varied places overseas, together with a metropolis in China close to the North Korean border. Authorities discovered greater than 90 laptops in her house in an October 2023 search.
Chapman additionally obtained and solid payroll information utilizing stolen identities. Funds have been deposited into her private US accounts after which transferred to people abroad.
Among the businesses affected by the scheme are Fortune 500 firms, a serious nationwide TV community, an aerospace producer, an American automotive maker and a luxurious retail retailer, the May indictment read, with out naming the businesses.
Officials stated that international IT employees unsuccessfully tried to acquire employment at two US authorities businesses.
The State Department and different businesses issued in 2022 a warning about schemes, the place North Korean IT employees, posing as from different nationalities, provided to work remotely and utilized for jobs in digital gaming, IT help, and synthetic intelligence, amongst different sectors.
Some of those IT employees work intently with North Korean hackers, who’re additionally a wealthy income for the regime, in response to consultants who spoke with NCS. About half of North Korea’s missile program has been funded by cyberattacks and cryptocurrency theft, a White House official said in 2024.
“By directing its IT workers to gain employment at Western companies, North Korea has weaponized its tech talent and created the ultimate insider threat,” Michael Barnhart, a North Korea specialist at Google-owned cybersecurity agency Mandiant, informed NCS in 2024.
“These operatives bypass sanctions by diverting their paychecks to help fund North Korea’s nuclear program. Simultaneously, they’re providing a foothold into major organizations for North Korea’s more advanced threat groups,” Barnhart stated.