Amazon, the US technology giant, announced it has suspended over 1,800 job applications after detecting signs of a criminal group believed to be North Korean operatives attempting to disguise themselves to apply for IT jobs, with the intent to send money back supporting the government’s weapons programs.
Stephen Schmidt, Amazon's Chief Security Officer, revealed on LinkedIn that the company has blocked a large number of applications from suspected North Korean networks attempting to use fake documents or stolen identities to apply for remote IT positions.
Schmidt explained the group’s purpose is simple but dangerous: "to get hired, receive pay, and send money back" to fund North Korea’s weapons development projects. This trend is not limited to Amazon but is spreading throughout the US tech industry. Over the past year, Amazon noted a one-third increase in applications from high-risk groups.
These criminals work with US-based networks called "Laptop Farms," where computers are left running in America but remotely controlled from abroad to create the illusion that employees are physically working in the US.
The fraudsters’ strategies are increasingly sophisticated, including methods such ashacking into inactive but reputable LinkedIn accounts to impersonate users andfalsely representing engineers by using real software engineers’ profiles to appear credible, as well as fabricating educational histories. Officials detect suspicious signs like unusual phone number formats or inconsistent education records.
Amazon employs artificial intelligence tools combined with expert team reviews to screen these applications and has urged other companies to report suspicious activities to authorities.
Previously, in June, the US government shut down 29 illegal "Laptop Farms" nationwide. In July, an Arizona woman was sentenced to over eight years in prison for aiding North Korean operatives in securing jobs at more than 300 US companies, generating over 17 million US dollars (about 600 million baht) in revenue for this network and the North Korean government.
/sourceBBC