Eleven Nations Warn Against North Korean IT Worker Schemes

The United States Department of State and the FBI, in coordination with Canada, Japan, South Korea, the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and others, issued a joint advisory on July 31, 2026. The alert warns that skilled North Korean IT workers use false identities, third-party proxies, AI-driven obfuscation, and laptop farms to secure remote contracts in software, blockchain, and mobile app development. These workers remit their salaries to North Korean agencies to fund unlawful nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.

Beyond funding, the advisory identifies these workers as insider threats capable of cryptocurrency theft, data exfiltration, and stealing sensitive information. The U.S. Treasury Department reported that these schemes defrauded American businesses of $800 million in 2024. The FBI noted that eight individuals were sentenced to prison in 2026 for their roles in these operations.

Participating nations urged private companies to strengthen identity verification and watch for red flags, such as manipulated interview video feeds or requests for cryptocurrency payments. Hiring these workers may violate domestic laws and UN Security Council Resolution 2397. In a related legislative move, U.S. Representative Young Kim introduced the North Korean FAKER Act to authorize the Secretary of State to collaborate with allies to disrupt these networks and increase rewards for information on proliferation schemes.