\n
Since 2022, authorities and cyber defenders have warned about the rise of secret North Korean workers infiltrating western companies.<\/p>\n
The US and South Korea accuse North Korea of tasking thousands of staff to take on multiple well-paid western roles remotely to earn money for the regime and avoid sanctions.<\/p>\n
In September cyber security company Mandiant said dozens of Fortune 100 companies have been found to have accidentally hired North Koreans.<\/p>\n
But secret IT workers turning on their employers with cyber attacks is rare, according to Rafe Pilling, Director of Threat Intelligence at Secureworks.<\/p>\n
“This is a serious escalation of the risk from fraudulent North Korean IT worker schemes,” he said. <\/p>\n
“No longer are they just after a steady pay check, they are looking for higher sums, more quickly, through data theft and extortion, from inside the company defences.”<\/p>\n
The case comes after another North Korean IT worker was caught attempting to hack their employer in July.<\/p>\n
The IT worker was hired by the cyber company KnowBe4, which quickly disabled access to their systems when it noticed strange behaviour.<\/p>\n
“We posted the job, received resumes, conducted interviews, performed background checks, verified references, and hired the person,” the firm wrote in a blog post. <\/p>\n
“We sent them their Mac workstation, and the moment it was received, it immediately started to load malware (malicious software).”<\/p>\n
Authorities are warning employers to be vigilant about new hires if they are fully remote.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/240\/cpsprodpb\/55b8\/live\/30f2d0b0-8bac-11ef-b6b0-c9af5f7f16e4.jpg.webp)
<\/picture><\/span>Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n