Amazon is reportedly being deluged with North Korean job applicants eager to break inside its walls

Date:
Mon, 22 Dec 2025 17:05:00 +0000

Description:
Amazon detections are up 27%, with Microsoft also worried about North Korean remote job applications.

FULL STORY

Amazon has blocked over 1,800 suspected North Korean applications from
joining the company since April 2024, it has revealed.

"Their objective is typically straightforward: get hired, get paid, and
funnel wages back to fund the regime's weapons programs," company Chief Security Officer Stephen Schmidt wrote in a LinkedIn post .

The company is using artificial intelligence and human verification to stamp out "anomalies" and "geographic inconsistencies" to rule out such
applications, with DPRK-affiliated application detections up 27% this year.

North Korean nationals are trying to get jobs at Big Tech

The scams involve real developers using fake or stolen identities to apply
for remote jobs at US and European companies, and emerging AI tools are
proving a big hit in strengthening their cases. AI and fake social media profiles are being used to strengthen applications, while deepfakes are even being used to (try to) pass video interviews.

However, even though Amazon has been able to leverage AI to identify even
more fake applications, detection is getting harder with scammers hijacking real engineers' unused LinkedIn accounts via stolen credentials.

While tech may be helping Amazon's security team identify fake applications, some signs are still clear to the human eye. For example, Schmidt says the
team often sees applicants citing an education from a university that doesn't offer the claimed course. Some formatting details, like adding the international '+' symbol to phone numbers, also stand out.

The CSO urges victims of false, DPRK applications to report them to the FBI
and local law enforcement.

Amazon isn't the only company facing these threats. Just six months ago, Microsoft shared similar findings, noting that North Korean remote IT workers are using AI to enhance photos, swap faces on stolen IDs, finetune their job applications and even use voice-changing software.

According to Microsoft, more than 300 US companies, including Fortune 500 firms, unknowing hired such workers between 2020 and 2022.

Redmond's report suggests monitoring odd behavior, like the use of foreign
IPs and VPNs, never appearing on camera in video calls and working strange hours.

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/amazon-is-being-reportedly-deluged-with -fake-north-korean-job-applicants

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Mike Powell wrote to All <=-

Amazon is reportedly being deluged with North Korean job applicants
eager to break inside its walls

I've been hiring for a couple of positions and I'm surprised at the
resumes that get through the recruiters, and had a couple of shocking
video interviews.

When I interview someone, I like to focus on stories. Tell me about a
time that you did something that changed the way a company worked?
Describe an environment where you felt like you did your best?

A couple of the interviewers were obviously looking down at something
on the screen, and essentially reading off a list of tools,
applications and services. When asked where they used them, or what
they liked about xyz, I'd get a mumble and a general list of features.

No, thanks.

I wonder what hiring manager would say, "That guy has 'WINNER' written
all over him!"



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A couple of the interviewers were obviously looking down at something
on the screen, and essentially reading off a list of tools,
applications and services. When asked where they used them, or what
they liked about xyz, I'd get a mumble and a general list of features.

No, thanks.

I wonder what hiring manager would say, "That guy has 'WINNER' written
all over him!"

Probably the kind that doesn't actually know what they are doing,
either. :D

Mike


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I wonder what hiring manager would say, "That guy has 'WINNER' written

>> all over him!"

Probably the kind that doesn't actually know what they are doing,

>either. :D

One of my earliest real jobs while I was still in school was at a grocery
store and I'd ridden in on my motorcycle to apply for the job.

The manager looked over my application (no resume to speak of) and
said, I see that you ride a motorcycle.. What happens when it rains?

I replied, I get wet.. I then added that I would have a car to use
by the time winter got here so I planned to keep the job.

Years later he told me that my comment about getting wet was what
got me the job. There were apparently a lot of applicants for
the opening who lived a lot closer to the store than where I
was (16 miles away) but he figured I sounded like the type of
person who would suffer almost anything to make it into work,
and he wasn't wrong.. Flooded roads, freezing rain, driving snow,
I always made it in.. B)

---
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I wonder what hiring manager would say, "That guy has 'WINNER' written

>> all over him!"

Probably the kind that doesn't actually know what they are doing,

>either. :D

Years later he told me that my comment about getting wet was what
got me the job. There were apparently a lot of applicants for
the opening who lived a lot closer to the store than where I
was (16 miles away) but he figured I sounded like the type of
person who would suffer almost anything to make it into work,
and he wasn't wrong.. Flooded roads, freezing rain, driving snow,
I always made it in.. B)

Sounds like maybe that manager wasn't in the "doesn't know what they are
doing" category. Good on you both. ;)

Mike


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