South Korea, US, nine other countries issue joint alert on North Korean IT workers

Seoul, July 31 (SocialNews.XYZ) South Korea, the United States, Japan and eight other countries on Friday issued a joint alert about North Korean information technology (IT) workers accused of generating revenue to help fund Pyongyang's weapons of mass destruction programs.

The relevant authorities of the 11 countries released the alert, urging all countries, companies and other entities to deepen their understanding of North Korean IT worker schemes, implement measures to deal with them and strengthen countermeasures, such as enhancing identity verification procedures, Yonhap News Agency reported.

"North Korea relies upon a network of skilled Information Technology workers, deployed within and outside of North Korea, to obtain false identities and remotely earn income to fund North Korea's unlawful nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs," they said in the alert released by the US State Department.

They pointed out that North Korean IT workers impersonate nationals of other countries to obtain work and income through online platforms operated by private companies for employment, procurement and contracting of services.

"These workers seek out contracts with the intent of remitting their salaries to their parent North Korean agencies. They also pose an insider threat to companies and are involved in data exfiltration, cryptocurrency theft, and theft of sensitive information," they said.

"North Korean IT workers employ increasingly sophisticated methods, including the integration of AI, to obfuscate their identities and expand their activities globally."

All UN member states must repatriate to North Korea all North Korean nationals earning income in that member state's jurisdiction, subject to limited exceptions, they stressed, citing a UN Security Council resolution on the reclusive regime.

"Additionally, contracting with North Korean IT workers and paying them for services rendered may also violate the domestic laws of many countries, including Japan, the United States, and the Republic of Korea, and may result in legal consequences or financial penalties," they said.

The countries that issued the joint alert included Britain, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and New Zealand.

Earlier, US Representative Young Kim (Republican-California) submitted a bill, titled "North Korean Fraudulent Applicants Knowingly Enriching the Regime Act," or the "North Korean FAKER Act," which would authorise the secretary of state to cooperate with US allies and partners to detect, attribute and disrupt the North's IT worker schemes and other illicit activities, Yonhap News Agency reported.

It calls for the secretary of state to coordinate with allies and partners to align sanctions and other measures to address North Korean IT worker schemes, enhance information sharing and engage with private-sector entities with relevant technical expertise to better detect, attribute and disrupt illicit North Korean activities.

It also enables the secretary to increase rewards offered to address IT worker schemes and weapons of mass destruction proliferation networks.

In addition, the bill states that the secretary should submit to the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee a report on the North's IT worker schemes and efforts to counter them no later than 180 days after the act's enactment and annually thereafter for a period of two years.

Source: IANS