WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A senior Amazon executive has revealed that the company has blocked more than 1,800 job applications believed to be linked to North Korean agents attempting to infiltrate the US tech workforce.
According to Amazon's chief security officer, Stephen Schmidt, the individuals were applying for remote IT roles using stolen or fabricated identities.
In a LinkedIn post, Schmidt said the suspected operatives aimed to secure employment, earn salaries, and funnel the income back to North Korea to help fund the regime's weapons programs.
He warned that the issue is likely widespread across the technology sector, particularly in the United States, where remote work has expanded hiring opportunities.
Amazon has recorded nearly a one-third increase in suspected North Korean job applications over the past year. Schmidt noted that these workers often rely on so-called 'laptop farms,' where computers physically located in the US are remotely operated from abroad to disguise their true location.
The company uses a mix of artificial intelligence tools and human review to screen applicants, but Schmidt cautioned that fraud tactics are becoming increasingly sophisticated. These include hijacking dormant LinkedIn accounts and impersonating real software engineers to appear legitimate.
US authorities have also highlighted the threat. The Department of Justice recently uncovered dozens of illegal laptop farms and prosecuted individuals who helped North Korean IT workers secure jobs, generating millions of dollars in illicit revenue for Pyongyang.
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