U.S. Wanted Information on North Korean IT Companies... "Involvement of North Korean IT Workers in Disguised Employment"

The U.S. government has publicly wanted information on North Korean IT companies involved in fake employment of North Korean IT workers with a bounty of up to 5 million dollars (about 7.15 billion won).

The State Department also released a phenomenon poster with photos and names of 14 representatives and employees of the two companies.

The companies that the U.S. State Department's reporting compensation program "Compensation for Justice" has asked for information with a bounty are "Yenbian Silverstar Network Technology" in China and "Bolasis Technology" in Russia.

The State Department explained, "The two companies dispatched North Korean IT workers and managers to Yanji, Jilin Province, China, and Vladivostok, Russia, and provided North Korea with illegal profits secured by allowing companies around the world, including the United States, to work as freelance IT workers."

He also pointed out, "They hired 130 North Korean IT workers at U.S. agencies and institutions from April 2017 to 2023 by stealing hundreds of American identities, generating at least $88 million (about 126 billion won) in illegal profits."

Earlier in July, the U.S. State Department wanted Lim Jong-hyuk, a North Korean hacker linked to Andariel, a North Korean hacking group.

In May, he also offered a $5 million reward to North Korean IT workers who made more than $6.8 million from false employment at a large U.S. company.

Google Cloud Mandiant, a global cybersecurity firm, said, "We have confirmed that extortion attempts linked to North Korean IT personnel have been increasing in recent months," adding, "The first case of leaking sensitive data from affected organizations and demanding a large amount of money has been confirmed, and they are demanding more cryptocurrency than before."

"As countries have stepped up their crackdowns on North Korea's cyber operations over the past year, they are changing their tactics more aggressively," he said, stressing that identity disclosure is an important step to curb North Korea's cyberattacks and strengthen international social security beyond just personal punishment.