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Amazon has disclosed that it has blocked over 1,800 job applications from individuals suspected of being North Korean agents. According to a LinkedIn post by Amazon's chief security officer, Stephen Schmidt, these applicants sought remote IT positions using stolen or fabricated identities. Schmidt further explained that their objective was to secure employment, earn wages, and then channel those funds back to support North Korea's weapons programs, a trend he believes is occurring extensively across the US technology industry.
Authorities in the US and South Korea have warned about Pyongyang's operatives carrying out online scams.
Amazon has seen a nearly one-third increase in job applications from North Koreans in the past year, said Mr Schmidt in his post. He said the operatives typically work with people managing "laptop farms" - referring to computers based in the US that are run remotely from outside of the country.
The firm used a combination of artificial intelligence marks tools and verification by its staff to screen job applications, he said.
The strategies used by such fraudsters have become more sophisticated, Mr Schmidt said.
Bad actors are hijacking dormant LinkedIn accounts using leaked credentials to gain verification. They target genuine software engineers to appear credible, he said, urging firms to report suspicious job applications to the authorities.
Mr Schmidt warned employers to look out for indicators of fraudulent North Korean job applications, including incorrectly formatted phone numbers and mismatched education histories.
In June, the US government said it had uncovered 29 "laptop farms" that were being operated illegally across the country by North Korean IT workers. They used stolen or forged identities of Americans to help North Korean nationals get jobs in the US, said the Department of Justice (DOJ).
It also indicted US brokers who had helped secure jobs for the North Korean operatives.
