In an effort to raise money for the regime in Pyongyang, it is believed that thieves from North Korea are now using pirated resumes and fake passports, according to cybersecurity expert interviews and information acquired by a major news organisation.
According to security researchers at Mandiant Inc., the fraudsters are browsing Indeed and LinkedIn for job advertisements and adding information from authentic profiles to their own resumes in an effort to land jobs at US bitcoin companies. In the report, a recent job applicant from suspected North Korea described himself as a “creative and strategic thinking specialist” in the tech sector and promised that “the world will see the fantastic outcome from my hands.” The account from the job application claimed to be from a skilled software developer, according to Mandiant’s identification of it on July 14. However, researchers discovered nearly identical language in the profile of another user.
The researchers asserted that North Koreans can learn about future bitcoin trends by gathering information from cryptocurrency companies. According to Joe Dobson, a principal analyst at Mandiant, such information – about subjects like Ethereum, non-fungible tokens, and potential security lapses – could give the North Korean government an advantage in how to launder cryptocurrency in a way that helps Pyongyang avoid sanctions.
“It comes down to insider threats. If someone gets hired onto a crypto project, and they become a core developer, that allows them to influence things, whether for good or not,” he said.
The government of North Korea has constantly denied taking part in any theft made possible through the internet.
Some users claimed on job applications to have written a white paper about the Bibox digital currency exchange, while another pretended to be a senior software developer at a blockchain technology consultancy. Other suspected North Koreans have made up their employment histories.
The information uncovered by Mandiant supports claims made by the US government in May. The US has issued a warning about North Korean IT professionals attempting to find freelance work abroad while pretending to be someone they are not in order to collect money for government weapons development programmes. As per the US advisory, the so-called IT workers have the kinds of abilities required for complicated work including developing mobile apps, constructing virtual currency exchanges, and mobile gaming.
According to a 16-page US advisory issued in May, North Korean IT professionals “target freelance contracts from employers located in wealthier nations.” They frequently pose as South Korean, Chinese, Japanese, or Eastern European teleworkers with US addresses.