Amazon Blocks 1,800 Suspected North Korean Job Applicants

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) said it blocked more than 1,800 job applications from suspected North Korean agents.

This activity involved people trying to land remote roles with fake or stolen identities, BBC reports, as the company raises the alarm on foreign infiltration.

Security Tactics Involved

Stephen Schmidt, Amazon's chief security officer, described the suspicious applications last week in a LinkedIn post.

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He said North Koreans used stolen or forged identities on remote IT job forms.

Schmidt wrote that the recruits aim to get hired, collect pay, then send money back to fund Pyongyang's weapons programs.

He warned that similar fake applications likely occur in other U.S. tech firms too.

How The Scheme Works

Schmidt explained that these operatives often work with people who manage so-called "laptop farms."

These are computers physically in the U.S. but operated from abroad.

He said the number of suspected North Korean job applications has jumped by almost a third in the past year.

Industry And Authority Response

U.S. and South Korean authorities have previously warned about online scams linked to Pyongyang.

The Department of Justice said it found 29 "laptop farms" being run illegally across the U.S. by North Korean IT workers.

These operations used stolen American identities to help North Koreans secure jobs.

Authorities also indicted U.S. brokers accused of helping the operatives get hired.

Criminal Convictions And Money Flow

In July, an Arizona woman received more than eight years in prison for running a laptop farm.

The Justice Department said the scheme netted over $17 million for her and Pyongyang.

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