Carding 4 Carders
Professional
The US and South Korean authorities warn that IT companies should be more careful when hiring freelancers.
The US and South Korean authorities recommend that companies use caution when hiring IT freelancers, as any of them may turn out to be an agent from North Korea. Such specialists work in the interests of Kim Jong-un: they are embedded in foreign companies, helping intelligence agencies steal important information and distribute malware, including spyware.
The FBI has previously warned that employers should pay attention to such suspicious activities as logging in from different IP addresses, working at non-standard times, and spelling differences on different Internet platforms.
The new guidelines include additional indications that the freelancer may be associated with North Korea:
Companies are also advised to conduct their own review of candidates recommended by recruiters and keep records of all interactions, including video interviews.
Also, according to the official warning, employers should:
FBI officials also expressed concerns about the activities of Chinese scientists and professors suspected of industrial espionage. Recently, Five Eyes, an international intelligence alliance (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States), issued an official warning about increased incidents in the scientific field.
As an example, Mike Burgess, Director of Security Australia, spoke about a recently identified operation. The Chinese scientist came to Australia to work at a research institute, but before that he was recruited by Chinese intelligence. After receiving funding and a list of requirements for collecting information, the professor asked his students research tasks that corresponded to the interests of the Chinese intelligence services. Fortunately, the professor's actions were detected in a timely manner, and he was deported from the country. Burgess stressed that such situations are becoming more common not only in Australia, but also in other countries.
The US and South Korean authorities recommend that companies use caution when hiring IT freelancers, as any of them may turn out to be an agent from North Korea. Such specialists work in the interests of Kim Jong-un: they are embedded in foreign companies, helping intelligence agencies steal important information and distribute malware, including spyware.
The FBI has previously warned that employers should pay attention to such suspicious activities as logging in from different IP addresses, working at non-standard times, and spelling differences on different Internet platforms.
The new guidelines include additional indications that the freelancer may be associated with North Korea:
- The employee often asks for an advance payment and responds aggressively to refusals;
- Threatens to disclose the source code of the program if there is no additional payment;
- For receiving corporate equipment or documents, indicate the address of the forwarding company instead of the home address, and this address may change regularly;
- Avoids face-to-face meetings or refuses to undergo medical examinations;
- Frequently changes the payment method on the freelance platform;
- Uses multiple Internet profiles with different photos or no photos at all.
Companies are also advised to conduct their own review of candidates recommended by recruiters and keep records of all interactions, including video interviews.
Also, according to the official warning, employers should:
- Prohibit remote Desktop usage on all corporate devices;
- Restrict access to administrative functions;
- Install programs for monitoring internal threats on service equipment;
- Constantly track the location of service laptops;
- Require freelancers to disable VPN when connecting to the corporate network;
- Apply a zero-trust policy and restrict access to confidential information.
FBI officials also expressed concerns about the activities of Chinese scientists and professors suspected of industrial espionage. Recently, Five Eyes, an international intelligence alliance (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States), issued an official warning about increased incidents in the scientific field.
As an example, Mike Burgess, Director of Security Australia, spoke about a recently identified operation. The Chinese scientist came to Australia to work at a research institute, but before that he was recruited by Chinese intelligence. After receiving funding and a list of requirements for collecting information, the professor asked his students research tasks that corresponded to the interests of the Chinese intelligence services. Fortunately, the professor's actions were detected in a timely manner, and he was deported from the country. Burgess stressed that such situations are becoming more common not only in Australia, but also in other countries.
