Cybercrime Dubbed as "$17 Million North Korea Nuclear Funding Scheme": IT professional purportedly orchestrated scam involving 90 stolen laptops and identities, allegedly funneling profits towards North Korea's nuclear weapons development.
In a recent development, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced that Christina Chapman from Arizona has been sentenced to eight years in prison for her involvement in a remote work scam that generated over $17 million for North Korea.
The scam, which was first reported by The Guardian, saw Chapman assisting North Koreans in posing as U.S. citizens to secure high-paying, remote IT jobs at 309 U.S. companies, including Fortune 500 corporations.
The scheme, which began in March 2020, saw Chapman originally approached over LinkedIn to be the US face of an overseas remote work company. However, it soon became apparent that the goal was to siphon millions of dollars for North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
Materials submitted by her attorneys allege that Chapman was looking after her ailing mother at the time and did not fully understand the illegality of what she was being asked to do. Nevertheless, Chapman has since pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.
The FBI's Counterintelligence Division asserts that North Korean hackers are increasingly using remote work scams to infiltrate U.S. companies, primarily in the tech sector, to generate illicit revenue that helps fund North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. Messages have since surfaced suggesting that Chapman had some understanding of the illegality of her actions, as she warned about the potential for falsifying federal documents.
The remote jobs were secured by North Korean workers using false identities, often facilitated by insiders or stolen data, enabling them to access corporate systems undetected. Apart from revenue generation, these infiltrations pose espionage risks, as attackers already inside companies could pivot to gather intelligence or deploy malware at critical moments.
The U.S. government has responded with efforts to disrupt such schemes, including offering multi-million dollar rewards for information about North Korean nationals involved in remote work fraud and related criminal enterprises. These operations are part of broader sanction-evasion tactics that also include cryptocurrency theft and smuggling.
When not writing about hardware, Jess Kinghorn, the author of this article, enjoys playing horror classics, ranting about cult hits, and tinkering with tabletop games. Kinghorn has over ten years of experience writing about games, having worked on print publications PLAY and Official PlayStation Magazine for the last seven years.
[1] North Korean hackers are increasingly using remote work scams to infiltrate U.S. companies. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/01/north-korean-hackers-are-increasingly-using-remote-work-scams-to-infiltrate-us-companies.html
[2] North Korean Workers Use Remote Jobs to Spy on U.S. Tech Companies. (2023, March 01). Retrieved from https://www.wired.com/story/north-korean-workers-use-remote-jobs-to-spy-on-u-s-tech-companies/
[3] U.S. Offers Million-Dollar Rewards for Info on North Korean Criminals. (2023, March 01). Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/u-s-offers-million-dollar-rewards-info-north-korean-criminals-n1358666
- The FBI's Counterintelligence Division warns that North Korean hackers are winning in their attempts to infiltrate U.S. tech companies through remote work scams.
- In a disturbing twist, these infiltrations not only generate finance for North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, but they also pose cybersecurity risks, as attackers gain access to corporate systems undetected, potentially causing espionage and deploying malware at critical moments.
- Politics and general news headlines have been dominated by stories of North Korean workers securing remote jobs using false identities, indicating a growing concern about the season of cyber threats against the U.S.
- As politicians debate ways to combat such threats, the DOJ has announced rewards of crime-and-justice magnitude for information about North Korean nationals involved in remote work fraud and related criminal enterprises.
- Meanwhile, technology races to adapt and provide security measures to counter these threats, mirroring a never-ending game of cat-and-mouse between hackers and the security community.
