Archive · 13 Aug 2026
North Korea uses stolen IDs, AI for US remote jobs
Some people from a country called North Korea are pretending to be American workers to get jobs.
They use other people's stolen names and AI to trick companies into hiring them.
AI can make fake pictures and videos that help them look like someone else during job interviews.
These fake workers do computer jobs from far away for American companies.
North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, gets hundreds of millions of dollars from these jobs.
The FBI, which keeps the US safe from crimes, is worried about this.
One of these pretend workers even got a job with the US government, and the FBI is investigating.
The workers have also stolen secret information from companies.
American helpers sometimes receive computers and hide them in special places called "laptop farms" to make it harder to catch the trick.
North Korean operatives use stolen identities, AI-generated documents and US-based facilitators to secure remote IT jobs at American companies.
US officials and international investigators estimate the scheme generates hundreds of millions of dollars annually for Kim Jong Un's regime.
The FBI is investigating a North Korean remote IT worker who obtained employment with a US federal agency.
FBI officials say AI is used across the recruitment process to create résumés, identity documents, images and deepfakes.
Investigators found cases of North Korean workers stealing proprietary information, credentials and other data after gaining network access.
- Who
- North Korean operatives, US-based facilitators and Kim Jong Un's regime; the FBI is investigating.
- What
- Using stolen identities, AI-generated documents and deepfakes to secure remote IT jobs at American companies and steal data.
- When
- Ongoing scheme; the FBI is currently investigating a case involving a North Korean remote IT worker at a US federal agency.
- Where
- The United States, where operatives remotely fill jobs at American companies.
- Why
- To generate foreign currency for Kim Jong Un's regime despite international sanctions and to steal proprietary information.
- Operation
- Stolen identities, AI and US-based facilitators used to secure remote IT jobs
- Estimated revenue
- Hundreds of millions of dollars annually
- Beneficiary
- Kim Jong Un's regime in North Korea
- FBI investigation
- North Korean remote IT worker employed by a US federal agency
- AI use
- Résumés, identity documents, images and deepfakes
- Facilitator tactic
- Laptop farms to hide operatives' true location
- Additional threat
- Theft of proprietary information, credentials and data
- Source
- Wall Street Journal investigation and US officials