The U.S. Department of Justice and FBI on Monday announced an arrest and indictments related to North Korea’s 'IT worker' program, through which North Koreans secured remote tech jobs at more than a 100 U.S. companies to steal money and data globally.
The actions include two indictments, one arrest, searches of 29 suspected 'laptop farms' in 16 states, and the seizure of 29 financial accounts and 21 fraudulent websites used for laundering illicit funds.
According to court documents, the schemes involve North Korean individuals fraudulently obtaining employment with U.S. companies as remote IT workers, using stolen and fake identities. The North Korean actors were assisted by individuals in the United States, China, United Arab Emirates, and Taiwan, and successfully obtained employment with more than 100 U.S. companies.
From 2021 until October 2024, the defendants and other co-conspirators compromised the identities of more than 80 U.S. persons to obtain remote jobs at more than a 100 U.S. companies, including many Fortune 500 companies, and caused U.S. victim companies to incur legal fees, computer network remediation costs, and other damages and losses of at least $3 million.
The North Koreans also allegedly stole at least $900,000 worth of cryptocurrency from one Georgia-based company with their access, along with employer data and source code, including International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) data, from a California-based defense contractor, the DOJ said.
Zhenxing 'Danny' Wang and Kejia Wang, both U.S. citizens, were indicted as part of the operation, according to the DOJ. Zhenxing Wang was arrested in New Jersey, while Kejia Wang remains free, a DOJ spokesperson said in an email. An attorney for Zhenxing Wang could not be immediately located.
The two men, along with four other unnamed U.S. 'facilitators,' assisted the North Koreans by procuring and operating laptops used by the overseas workers, created financial accounts to receive money earned by the workers to be sent back to North Korea, and created shell companies to make the workers appear more authentic, according to the DOJ, earning nearly $700,000 from the scheme for themselves.
Simultaneously with today’s announcement, the FBI and Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) seized 17 web domains used in furtherance of the charged scheme and further seized 29 financial accounts, holding tens of thousands of dollars in funds, used to launder revenue for the North Korean regime through the remote IT work scheme.
Federal prosecutors also indicted six Chinese nationals and two Taiwanese nationals for alleged roles in the operation.
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said on Thursday (26 February) he will focus on expanding his country’s nuclear arsenal and that prospects for improving relations with the U.S. depend entirely on Washington’s approach, state media KCNA reported.
North Korea’s Workers' Party of Korea has re-elected Kim Jong Un as general secretary during the party congress in Pyongyang state media reported.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un opened the ruling Workers’ Party congress by hailing the past five years as a period of significant progress, while setting out new economic and political goals amid scrutiny over military plans and possible succession signals.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. military has enough stockpiled weapons to fight wars "forever"; in a social media post late on Monday. The remarks came hours before conflict in Iran and the Middle East entered its fourth day.
U.S. first lady, Melania Trump chaired a UN Security Council meeting on children and education in conflict on Monday (2 March), a move criticised by Iran as hypocritical following U.S. and Israeli strikes that triggered a UN warning about risks to children.
A torpedo from a U.S. submarine has sunk an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, U.S. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth told reporters. The Sri Lankan navy carried out a rescue operation for dozens of sailors in the wake of the strike.
The U.S. embassy in Riyadh was hit by two drones resulting in a limited fire and some material damage, the kingdom's defence ministry said in a post on X on Tuesday, citing an initial assessment.
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U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the United States is making gains in its conflict with Iran after a key Iranian naval target was destroyed, confirming that the strike was carried out by a U.S. submarine off the coast of Sri Lanka. Rescue efforts are now under way for the ship’s crew.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 4th of February, covering the latest developments you need to know.
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The United Nations has called for an investigation into a deadly attack on a girls’ primary school in Iran, which Iranian officials say has killed more than 100 children. The U.S. has said its forces “would not” deliberately target a school.
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