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Washington.– The Department of Justice of the United States filed criminal charges against a network of hackers linked to the North Korean regime, accused of infiltrating hundreds of American companies through remote workers operating under false identities.
The operation generated millions of dollars that would have been allocated to the development of Pyongyang's military program.
The investigation, which covers parallel cases in the states of Massachusetts and Georgia, led to the seizure of websites, bank accounts, and dozens of laptops. Federal authorities noted that the network used a strategy that combined technological sophistication with deceptively simple execution.
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Thousands of supposed North Korean workers were posing as programmers, testers, or independent developers, using stolen or completely fake identities. The companies, convinced they were hiring local staff, transferred their salaries to accounts controlled by accomplices of Kim Jong-un's regime. Many of these "employees" operated from North Korea or China, but accessed US systems through virtual networks to simulate a location within the country. In the case of Massachusetts, authorities arrested a U.S. citizen and charged more than seven individuals of Chinese and Taiwanese nationality for their involvement in the creation of shell companies and fake portals. According to prosecutors, the scheme would have generated more than five million dollars and affected more than one hundred companies, some of which handled sensitive information related to military technology. In Georgia, it was discovered that four North Korean citizens managed to infiltrate a blockchain technology research and development firm based in Atlanta. From there, they accessed internal systems and stole cryptocurrencies worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, channeling the funds into accounts linked to the North Korean government. Although the U.S. Department of Justice did not disclose the names of the affected companies, external investigations have linked similar incidents to companies in the cybersecurity, defense, and software development sectors. In one of the most serious cases, an infiltrator managed to access a Pentagon contractor and information regulated by the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). These cases add to a series of previous accusations. In 2024, U.S. authorities had already charged 14 North Korean citizens for a similar fraud that generated around 88 million dollars. According to intelligence agencies, these operations would be directed by the General Reconnaissance Bureau (RGB), the main North Korean military intelligence agency, and by Office 121, an elite cyber warfare unit of Kim Jong-un's regime. “The goal of these schemes is clear: to defraud American companies, evade sanctions, and finance illicit programs of the North Korean regime, including its weapons,” warned John C. Demers, Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division.
