U.S. prosecutors announced the arrests of an American woman and a Ukrainian man for aiding North Korean IT workers posing as Americans to secure remote jobs at over 300 U.S. companies, Reuters reports.
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The scheme, which generated at least $6.8 million for North Korea, included attempts to infiltrate U.S. government agencies and involved the identity theft of more than 60 Americans.
Charges were filed against Christina Marie Chapman, 49, and Oleksandr Didenko, 27, among others, with Chapman arrested in Arizona and Didenko detained in Poland awaiting extradition.
The Justice Department highlighted that the conspirators' actions benefited North Korea by providing revenue and, in some cases, proprietary information. This situation serves as a critical alert for U.S. companies and agencies employing remote IT workers about the potential risks of such infiltrations.
A $5 million reward has been announced for information on other conspirators, as authorities continue to dismantle the scheme and seize related assets.
