Sanctions Slam: US Targets Russian and Chinese Players in North Korean IT Scam!
OFAC sanctions a Russian national and a Chinese company for aiding North Korean IT worker schemes. With stolen identities and AI trickery, these fake IT workers net millions, sometimes deploying malware and extortion. You’d think they’d at least fix a few printers along the way!
Hot Take:
Looks like North Korea isn’t just interested in nuclear weapons anymore; they’re now in the IT business! Who knew Kim Jong-un was a tech enthusiast? The US Treasury’s recent sanctions against a Russian national and a Chinese company for aiding North Korean IT worker schemes is like an episode of “Scam Artists International.” It’s a plot twist where North Korean nationals moonlight as IT professionals, siphoning money to fund Pyongyang’s grand ambitions. Is it just me, or does this sound like the start of a bizarre cyber-thriller?
Key Points:
- The US Treasury’s OFAC sanctioned a Russian national and a Chinese company for facilitating North Korean fraudulent IT worker schemes.
- North Korean nationals used fake identities to secure IT jobs in the US, funneling millions to the Pyongyang regime.
- The fraudulent workers sometimes installed malware and engaged in extortion on their employers’ networks.
- Vitaliy Sergeyevich Andreyev and Shenyang Geumpungri Network Technology Co., Ltd are key players in this scheme.
- Sanctions block US property interests of the designated entities and prohibit transactions with them.