Latest news with #LeahFoley
New York Times
2 hours ago
- Business
- New York Times
North Korean Tech Workers Infiltrating Companies Around World, U.S. Says
The North Korean government, struggling under the weight of international sanctions, has for years seeded companies in the United States and elsewhere with remote tech workers camouflaged by false and stolen identifies to generate desperately needed revenue, federal prosecutors say. Taking advantage of the global demand for skilled tech employees and the rise in remote employment, the North Korean regime has found a way to work around United Nations and United States sanctions imposed on it for its nuclear weapons program, the prosectors said in two indictments unsealed in federal district courts in Massachusetts and Georgia. It has also used the access to steal both money and information, they said. 'Thousands of North Korean cyber-operatives have been trained and deployed by the regime to blend into the global digital work force,' Leah Foley, the chief federal prosecutor in Massachusetts, said in announcing the charges on Monday. She called the threat 'both real and immediate.' s. On Monday, federal law enforcement authorities took a series of actions across 16 states aimed at shutting down the scheme. Investigators seized dozens of financial accounts and fraudulent websites and searched 'laptop farms' that allowed North Korean operatives to gain access to the computers that companies provide their off-site employees, prosecutors said. In recent years, North Korean attempts to evade sanctions using false identities have been increasingly been raising alarm. There is evidence that the operation has expanded geographically, targeting Europe in particular, according to a report from the Google Threat Intelligence Group in April. Last year, the Justice Department and the F.B.I. launched an initiative to identify people in the United States believed to be helping North Koreans advance the plots, some of them without their knowledge. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
US government takes down major North Korean ‘remote IT workers' operation
The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Monday that it had taken several enforcement actions against North Korea's money-making operations, which rely on undercover remote IT workers inside American tech companies to raise funds for the regime's nuclear weapons program, as well as to steal data and cryptocurrency. As part of the DOJ's multi-state effort, the government announced the arrest and indictment of U.S. national Zhenxing 'Danny' Wang, who allegedly ran a years-long fraud scheme from New Jersey to sneak remote North Korean IT workers inside U.S. tech companies. According to the indictment, the scheme generated more than $5 million in revenue for the North Korean regime. Wang is accused of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering, and identity theft. The feds also indicted eight more people who participated in the scheme: six Chinese nationals and two Taiwanese citizens, who are accused of conspiring to commit wire fraud, money laundering, identity theft, hacking, and to violate sanctions. 'Thousands of North Korean cyber operatives have been trained and deployed by the regime to blend into the global digital workforce and systematically target U.S. companies,' Leah B. Foley, U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, was quoted as saying. From 2021 until 2024, the co-conspirators allegedly impersonated more than 80 U.S. individuals to get remote jobs at more than 100 American companies, causing $3 million in damages due to legal fees, data breach remediation efforts, and more. The group is said to have run laptop farms inside the United States, which the North Korean IT workers could essentially use as proxies to hide their provenance, according to the DOJ. At times, they used hardware devices known as keyboard-video-mouse (KVM) switches, which allow one person to control multiple computers from a single keyboard and mouse. The group allegedly also ran shell companies inside the U.S. to make it seem like the North Korean IT workers were affiliated with legitimate local companies, and to receive money that would then be transferred abroad, the DOJ said. The fraudulent scheme allegedly also involved the North Korean workers stealing sensitive data, such as source code, from the companies they were working for, such as from an unnamed California-based defense contractor 'that develops artificial intelligence-powered equipment and technologies.' The DOJ said the FBI carried out searches earlier in June on 21 locations across 14 states, which were allegedly hosting laptop farms used by the North Korean scheme. The FBI seized 137 laptops as a result of the raids. The feds also said they seized at least 21 web domains, 29 financial accounts used to launder tens of thousands of dollars, and more than 70 laptops and remote access devices, including KVMs. Five North Korean nationals were indicted for wire fraud and money laundering after they stole more than $900,000 in crypto from two unnamed companies, thanks to their use of fake or stolen identities, the DOJ said.
Axios
3 days ago
- Politics
- Axios
Wu challenges ICE's masked agents
⚖️ Harvard challenged President Trump's order blocking its international students from entering the country, which a federal judge responded to by swiftly granting a temporary restraining order. (Axios) 🚔 U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said federal agents' use of masks during immigration arrests is because of threats and harassment. (Boston Herald) Mayor Michele Wu had compared masked ICE agents to a neo-Nazi group and said she didn't know of any police organizations that routinely hide their faces. Foley called Wu's description "reckless and inflammatory." ⚖️ A federal judge granted bail yesterday to Marcelo Gomes da Silva, the Milford high school student arrested by ICE on the way to his volleyball practice. (Boston Globe) 🏥 Harvard Medical School 's diversity office removed its pledge to "challenge discrimination" and "actively promote social justice" while changing its name to the "Office for Culture and Community Engagement." (The Harvard Crimson) 🎓 Massachusetts public universities are asking for $3 billion from the state for campus renovations and maintenance fixes. (Boston Business Journal)
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mayor Wu's claims about ICE agents ‘outrageous': Massachusetts DA
(NewsNation) — ICE agents have been faced with heightened scrutiny in major cities across the U.S. as the agency ramps up immigration arrests. ICE agents often wear masks during their operations, and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, a Democrat, recently said she did not know of any other police agency that wears masks like the immigration agents do. She also noted that controversial groups, including the neo-Nazi organization NSC-131, do wear them. In a post on social platform X, the Department of Homeland Security called Wu's remarks 'sickening,' and that they wear the masks to protect themselves from being targeted. Kilmar Abrego Garcia returns to US to face charges Leah Foley, the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts, also said the agents are protecting themselves, and that she will continue to defend them against Wu's claims, as they are just doing their jobs. 'She called them secret agents, and compared them to neo-Nazis,' Foley said. 'That is false, it's outrageous and it's offensive.' Foley added that agents have been videotaped and had their photos taken on the job, and that it is putting them and their families in jeopardy. She said doxxing of federal agents will not be tolerated. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
State House Spotlight: Weed, housing, and ICE
BOSTON (WWLP) – This week at the State House in Boston, lawmakers' duties spanned from regulating weed to creating more housing to learning more about ICE operations. The House of Representatives passed a major marijuana bill, changing the structure of the Cannabis Control Commission, regulating and taxing convenience store hemp products, and more. Should Massachusetts keep religious exemptions to vaccine mandates? The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced a new housing initiative this week, turning unused state land into 3,500 new housing units. 'If you are a city or town that's had state properties languishing for years, underutilized, now you're going to have a chance to do something about that,' said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. 'Not only providing new housing that's going to serve your community and serve the commonwealth, but also create new tax revenues.' ICE announced that it made nearly 1,500 arrests during May. They say their focus is on illegal immigrants who have committed violent crimes and drug offenses. 'These are defendants who didn't simply cross a border, they crossed a line and jeopardized the safety of Massachusetts communities,' said U.S. Attorney Leah Foley. This announcement comes just days after a Milford high schooler with no criminal record was detained. He has since been released on bail. The governor once again spoke out against the Trump Administration. This week, they decided to shutter Job Corps centers that provide job training and housing to at-risk youth. In western Massachusetts, over 300 students and 170 employees would be affected by the Job Corps closure, which has been temporarily delayed by a New York judge. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
