Cybersecurity & Espionage Articles
https://www.economist.com/china/2022/06/01/chinas-spies-are-not-always-as-good-as-advertised
In recent years Western officials have maintained a steady drumbeat of warnings about Chinese spies. In short, the spooks are getting bolder and better. Among other things, they’re accused of hacking into Microsoft’s Exchange email service, stealing Western defence and commercial secrets, harassing Chinese dissidents overseas and bugging the headquarters of the African Union (all of which China denies). Yet, when confronted by overwhelming evidence that Russia was about to invade Ukraine, China’s spies appear to have dropped the ball.
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https://therecord.media/north-korean-it-workers-fbi-state-treasury-warning/
Companies that hire freelance IT teleworkers could inadvertently be employing North Koreans who have been dispatched to generate revenue for the country’s authoritarian regime or gain access to corporate networks, the U.S. government said Monday.The workers “take advantage of existing demands for specific IT skills, such as software and mobile application development,” according to the alert from the FBI, the Treasury Department and the State Department. In many cases, they used forged documents or stolen identities to “represent themselves as U.S.-based and/or non-North Korean teleworkers.” The IT workers might not engage in any malicious cyber-activity while doing their jobs, but “they have used the privileged access gained as contractors to enable [North Korea’s] malicious cyber intrusions,” the alert said. https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/126/20220516_dprk_it_worker_advisory.pdf
The U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are issuing this advisory for the international community, the private sector, and the public to warn of attempts by Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, a.k.a. North Korea) information technology (IT) workers to obtain employment while posing as non-North Korean nationals. There are reputational risks and the potential for legal consequences, including sanctions designation under U.S. and United Nations (UN) authorities, for individuals and entities engaged in or supporting DPRK IT worker-related activity and processing related financial transactions. The DPRK dispatches thousands of highly skilled IT workers around the world to generate revenue that contributes to its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs, in violation of U.S. and UN sanctions. These IT workers take advantage of existing demands for specific IT skills, such as software and mobile application development, to obtain freelance employment contracts from clients around the world, including in North America, Europe, and East Asia. In many cases, DPRK IT workers represent themselves as U.S.-based and/or non-North Korean teleworkers. The workers may further obfuscate their identities and/or location by sub-contracting work to nonNorth Koreans. Although DPRK IT workers normally engage in IT work distinct from malicious cyber activity, they have used the privileged access gained as contractors to enable the DPRK’s malicious cyber intrusions. Additionally, there are likely instances where workers are subjected to forced labor. |
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November 2022
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