Justice Department: North Koreans Infiltrate Dozens of U.S. Companies

The U.S. Department of Justice has announced that hackers working for the North Korean regime are increasingly using Americans as facilitators to attack U.S. companies.

In a Tuesday announcement, prosecutors stated they have indicted and arrested at least two individuals. Simultaneously, raids were conducted on dozens of suspected "laptop farms" in Texas. These locations were allegedly used by North Koreans to remotely hack into American companies and steal sensitive data.

According to the DOJ, federal authorities seized over 180 computers. It is believed that American companies had shipped these computers to their newly hired employees, unaware that they were North Korean operatives using stolen U.S. citizen identities to gain employment. The department reported raiding over 40 laptop farms across Texas, the largest disclosed number of residences used to facilitate North Korean hacking operations. At least two American facilitators owned these farms.

Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which assisted the FBI in investigating and disrupting North Korean operations, stated that laptop farms are "vital" to North Korea. They help the country's hackers overcome physical, financial, and legal challenges of not being able to be physically present in the United States.

Prosecutors estimate that at least 70 U.S. companies have been infiltrated by the hackers, who are believed to have generated approximately $3 million in stolen funds.