- Amazon has blocked over 1,800 suspected DPRK applications since April 2024
- Microsoft says 300 US companies hired DPRK workers between 2020 and 2022
- Monitoring human behavior is a good starting point, AI can help even more
Amazon has blocked over 1,800 suspected North Korean applications from joining the company since April 2024, it has revealed.
“Their goals are typically straightforward: to be hired, paid, and funnel back wages to fund the regime’s weapons programs,” the company’s security chief Stephen Schmidt wrote in a LinkedIn post.
The company uses artificial intelligence and human verification to root out “anomalies” and “geographic discrepancies” to rule out such applications, with DPRK-linked application detections up 27% this year.
North Korean nationals try to get jobs at Big Tech
The scams involve real developers using fake or stolen identities to apply for remote jobs at US and European companies, and new AI tools are proving a big hit to bolster their cases. AI and fake social media profiles are being used to power applications, while deepfakes are even being used to (attempt to) pass video interviews.
But while Amazon has been able to leverage AI to identify even more fake applications, it’s getting harder to detect as scammers hijack real engineers’ unused LinkedIn accounts via stolen credentials.
Although technology can help Amazon’s security team identify fake applications, some signs are still obvious to the human eye. For example, Schmidt says the team often sees applicants who cite a degree from a university that doesn’t offer the claimed course. Some formatting details, such as adding the international ‘+’ symbol to phone numbers also stands out.
CSO urges victims of fake DPRK applications to report them to the FBI and local law enforcement.
Amazon is not the only company facing these threats. Just six months ago, Microsoft shared similar findings, noting that North Korean IT outsourcers are using artificial intelligence to enhance photos, swap faces on stolen IDs, fine-tune their job applications and even use voice-altering software.
According to Microsoft, more than 300 US companies, including Fortune 500 companies, unknowingly hired such workers between 2020 and 2022.
Redmond’s report suggests monitoring strange behavior, like the use of foreign IPs and VPNs, never appearing on camera in video calls and working odd hours.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews and opinions in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can too follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, video unboxings, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp also.
