Amplification of North Korean IT worker scheme examined

Multiple industries worldwide are being targeted by North Korea with its expanded IT worker scheme after initially aiming at the U.S. tech sector, according to The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.

Nearly 27% of organizations subjected to North Korea's fraudulent IT worker campaign are outside the U.S., with those in the UK, Canada, and Germany being primary targets, a report from Okta showed. North Korean threat actors have applied lessons learned from intrusions against U.S. tech firms to compromise finance, healthcare, government, and professional services entities.

Aside from increased nefarious applications for remote processor positions, attempts at employment for artificial intelligence-focused roles have also surged while interviews for mobile app development, electronic record-keeping, and customer service systems in the health and medical technology sector held steady.

Such findings reveal North Korea's IT worker operation to be "a widespread, long-term campaign targeting organizations across almost every vertical," said Okta researchers.