North Korean agents pretending to be IT guys have funneled up to $1 billion into Kim Jong ...

This cybersecurity investigation by Fortune reveals how North Korean IT workers are infiltrating American companies through sophisticated identity theft and AI-powered deception schemes.

Thousands of North Korean men are using stolen identities, AI-generated personas, and fake LinkedIn profiles to secure remote tech jobs at Fortune 500 companies, banks, and startups across the United States. The FBI estimates this elaborate fraud has generated hundreds of millions to $1 billion for Kim Jong-un's regime over five years, with most worker salaries confiscated to fund nuclear weapons programs. These IT workers operate from clusters in China and Russia, using American accomplices to maintain "laptop farms" that provide remote access to company systems.

• Companies face serious security risks from foreign agents accessing internal systems and potential legal liability for violating North Korea sanctions
• The scheme has expanded 220% globally in the past year, targeting every industry while exploiting remote work vulnerabilities created during the pandemic
• North Korean workers themselves are victims of forced labor, separated from families and facing brutal consequences if they fail to meet earning quotas
• Detection remains challenging as these workers often become high-performing employees, using cultural blind spots and AI assistance to maintain their deceptions