US, Japan, South Korea warn of North Korean IT worker risks

The U.S. announced a partnership with Japan and South Korea to counter what they say

is the threat of North Korean IT workers. The joint statement says North Korea continues to send IT workers around the world

both in person and remotely. They say North Korea's goal is to generate revenue

for missile programs and steal data and intellectual property. North Korea has previously used cyber attacks, but getting their people on the inside of

companies is an even bigger risk. You know the highest level of threat is an insider and so this

really took it to another level and I think that's why you're seeing these you know organizations

with the government in you know Japan and in Korea, South Korea, you know putting out these

advisories and alerts to notify these private sector organizations of this. Hyslip said this tactic became more of an issue following the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of

remote work that allowed the workers to use fake names and locations to get inside companies

Having full access allows them to either steal whatever they want themselves or establish back doors and allow their counterparts who are remote you know say in North Korea to access it To counter this the U has designated and sanctioned several entities and people who they say help these IT worker schemes

Japan and South Korea have also taken steps to mitigate the risks, and it's not uncommon for allies to work together

But when an incident like this happens, they'll really get together, probably form a working group and determine

determine, OK, how are we going to mitigate this problem that we've identified and hopefully

you know, mitigate the resulting fallout if data was compromised. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency highlights North Korea

China, Russia and Iran as the biggest cyber threats to the U.S

And like American allies, enemies will sometimes work together as well. China's really been the biggest actor

And so it doesn't surprise me that, you know, North Korea and China are kind of allies when

it's convenient, they may have shared their tactics, techniques, and procedures that they're

using with North Korea. And then North Korea took advantage of that opportunity

For Straight Arrow News, I'm Lauren Keenan. For more unbiased straight facts

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