Latest news with #ZhenxingWang
New York Post
04-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
North Korea lashes out after Trump DOJ exposes massive IT infiltration scheme
North Korean officials accused the US Department of Justice (DOJ) of running 'an absurd smear campaign' after announcing that it had unraveled several schemes by the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea (DPRK) to fund the regime through remote information technology work for US companies. Earlier this week, the DOJ said North Korean actors were helped by individuals in the US, China, the United Emirates and Taiwan to obtain employment with over 100 US companies, including Fortune 500 companies. The scheme allegedly involved the workers getting laptops from the companies that hired them and allowing remote North Korean IT workers to remotely access the computers. In another scheme, North Korean IT workers used false identities to gain employment with a blockchain research and development company in Atlanta, Georgia, and steal over $900,000 in virtual currency. As part of its announcement about the North Korean scheme, the DOJ unsealed a five-count indictment against Zhenxing Wang, a US national living in New Jersey, who has since been arrested. Wang and his co-conspirators, the DOJ said, obtained remote IT work with US companies and generated over $5 million in revenue. 4 Earlier this week, the DOJ said North Korean actors were helped by individuals in the US, China, the United Emirates and Taiwan to obtain employment with over 100 US companies, including Fortune 500 companies. United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts Also charged in the indictment are Chinese nationals Jing Bin Huang, Baoyu Zhou, Tong Yuze, Yongzhe Xu, Ziyou Yuan and Zhenbang Zhou. Taiwanese nationals Mengting Liu and Enchia Liu were also charged in the indictment. Also indicted was US national Kejia 'Tony' Wang, also of New Jersey, who was charged separately. North Korean news agency KCNA reported that a spokesperson for the DPRK Foreign Ministry lambasted the US judicial system for its actions against DPRK citizens on the suspicion of a cybercrime. 'The recent incident is an absurd smear campaign and grave violation of sovereignty aimed at tarnishing the image of our state as it is a continuation of the hostile move of the successive US administrations that have talked much about the non-existent 'cyber threat' from the DPRK,' the spokesperson reportedly said. 4 As part of its announcement about the North Korean scheme, the DOJ unsealed a five-count indictment against Zhenxing Wang, a US national living in New Jersey, who has since been arrested. United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts 'The Foreign Ministry of the DPRK expresses serious concern over the US judicial authorities' provocation which is threatening and encroaching on the security, rights and interests of our citizens by fabricating the groundless 'cyber' drama, and strongly denounces and rejects it.' The spokesperson accused the US of creating 'international cyberspace instability,' and not the DPRK. 'The US has long been posing a constant threat to the cybersecurity of the DPRK and other sovereign states by making cyber space a scene of battle and abusing the cyber issue as a political weapon to tarnish the image of other countries and impair the exercise of their legitimate rights,' the spokesperson said. 'The Democratic People's Republic of Korea has the right to take a proper and proportionate countermeasure to thoroughly protect the security and rights of its citizens from the judicial enforcement for a sinister political purpose, and to call to strict legal account the outsiders who took malicious action,' the spokesperson concluded. 4 North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the 12th Plenary Session of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on June 24, 2025. via REUTERS The DOJ said the indictment alleges that from 2021 and through most of 2024, the defendants and other co-conspirators compromised the identities of over 80 people in the US to obtain remote jobs at more than 100 companies. As a result, the victim companies incurred legal fees, computer network remediation costs and other damages and losses to the tune of at least $3 million. Kejia and Zhenxing, along with at least four other US facilitators, allegedly helped overseas IT workers with various parts of the scheme. Kejia and Zhenxing allegedly established shell companies with websites and financial accounts to make it appear as though the overseas IT workers were affiliated with legitimate businesses in the US. 4 President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pose at a military demarcation line at the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, in Panmunjom, South Korea, June 30, 2019. REUTERS Once established, the two allegedly received money from US companies, and the funds were transferred to co-conspirators overseas. In exchange for their services, Kejia, Zhenxing and the other four conspirators in the US received at least $696,000 from the IT workers. The DOJ said one of the companies the schemers allegedly accessed data from was a defense contractor that develops artificial intelligence-powered equipment and technology. By accessing the company's data, the schemers were privy to International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), the DOJ said. The DOJ also announced that the FBI and Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) seized 17 web domains used as part of the scheme, along with 29 financial accounts holding tens of thousands of dollars, used to launder revenue for the North Korean regime. The DOJ unveiled another part of the scheme, which resulted in a five-count wire fraud and money laundering indictment against four North Korean nationals: Kim Kwang Jin, Kang Tae Bok, Jong Pong Ju and Change Nam II. The suspects are accused of scheming to steal virtual currency from two companies, with a value of over $900,000 at the time of the thefts, and to launder the proceeds. All four nationals, the DOJ said, are at large and wanted by the FBI.
Fox News
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
North Korea lashes out after Trump DOJ exposes massive IT infiltration scheme
North Korean officials accused the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) of running "an absurd smear campaign" after announcing that it had unraveled several schemes by the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea (DPRK) to fund the regime through remote information technology work for U.S. companies. Earlier this week, the DOJ said North Korean actors were helped by individuals in the U.S., China, the United Emirates and Taiwan to obtain employment with over 100 U.S. companies, including Fortune 500 companies. The scheme allegedly involved the workers getting laptops from the companies that hired them and allowing remote North Korean IT workers to remotely access the computers. In another scheme, North Korean IT workers used false identities to gain employment with a blockchain research and development company in Atlanta, Georgia, and steal over $900,000 in virtual currency. As part of its announcement about the North Korean scheme, the DOJ unsealed a five-count indictment against Zhenxing Wang, a U.S. national living in New Jersey, who has since been arrested. Wang and his co-conspirators, the DOJ said, obtained remote IT work with U.S. companies and generated over $5 million in revenue. Also charged in the indictment are Chinese nationals Jing Bin Huang, Baoyu Zhou, Tong Yuze, Yongzhe Xu, Ziyou Yuan and Zhenbang Zhou. Taiwanese nationals Mengting Liu and Enchia Liu were also charged in the indictment. Also indicted was U.S. national Kejia "Tony" Wang, also of New Jersey, who was charged separately. North Korean news agency KCNA reported that a spokesperson for the DPRK Foreign Ministry lambasted the U.S. judicial system for its actions against DPRK citizens on the suspicion of a cybercrime. "The recent incident is an absurd smear campaign and grave violation of sovereignty aimed at tarnishing the image of our state as it is a continuation of the hostile move of the successive U.S. administrations that have talked much about the non-existent 'cyber threat' from the DPRK," the spokesperson reportedly said. "The Foreign Ministry of the DPRK expresses serious concern over the U.S. judicial authorities' provocation which is threatening and encroaching on the security, rights and interests of our citizens by fabricating the groundless 'cyber' drama, and strongly denounces and rejects it." The spokesperson accused the U.S. of creating "international cyberspace instability," and not the DPRK. "The U.S. has long been posing a constant threat to the cybersecurity of the DPRK and other sovereign states by making cyber space a scene of battle and abusing the cyber issue as a political weapon to tarnish the image of other countries and impair the exercise of their legitimate rights," the spokesperson said. "The Democratic People's Republic of Korea has the right to take a proper and proportionate countermeasure to thoroughly protect the security and rights of its citizens from the judicial enforcement for a sinister political purpose, and to call to strict legal account the outsiders who took malicious action," the spokesperson concluded. The DOJ said the indictment alleges that from 2021 and through most of 2024, the defendants and other co-conspirators compromised the identities of over 80 people in the U.S. to obtain remote jobs at more than 100 companies. As a result, the victim companies incurred legal fees, computer network remediation costs and other damages and losses to the tune of at least $3 million. Kejia and Zhenxing, along with at least four other U.S. facilitators, allegedly helped overseas IT workers with various parts of the scheme. Kejia and Zhenxing allegedly established shell companies with websites and financial accounts to make it appear as though the overseas IT workers were affiliated with legitimate businesses in the U.S. Once established, the two allegedly received money from U.S. companies, and the funds were transferred to co-conspirators overseas. In exchange for their services, Kejia, Zhenxing and the other four conspirators in the U.S. received at least $696,000 from the IT workers. The DOJ said one of the companies the schemers allegedly accessed data from was a defense contractor that develops artificial intelligence-powered equipment and technology. By accessing the company's data, the schemers were privy to International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), the DOJ said. The DOJ also announced that the FBI and Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) seized 17 web domains used as part of the scheme, along with 29 financial accounts holding tens of thousands of dollars, used to launder revenue for the North Korean regime. The DOJ unveiled another part of the scheme, which resulted in a five-count wire fraud and money laundering indictment against four North Korean nationals: Kim Kwang Jin, Kang Tae Bok, Jong Pong Ju and Change Nam II. The suspects are accused of scheming to steal virtual currency from two companies, with a value of over $900,000 at the time of the thefts, and to launder the proceeds. All four nationals, the DOJ said, are at large and wanted by the FBI.
NZ Herald
01-07-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
US makes arrests over North Korean IT scheme funding weapons programme
The United States says it has taken down a network that allegedly helped North Koreans obtain remote IT work with companies to raise millions of dollars in funds for the sanctioned country's weapons programme. US national Zhenxing Wang of New Jersey has been arrested and six Chinese nationals and two
Time of India
01-07-2025
- Time of India
US busts network that helped North Koreans obtain remote IT work
Washington: The US Justice Department said Monday it has taken down a network that allegedly helped North Koreans obtain remote IT work with companies to raise funds for the sanctioned Asian country's weapons program. A US national, Zhenxing Wang of New Jersey, has been arrested and six Chinese nationals and two Taiwan citizens have been indicted for their alleged roles in the scheme, the department said in a statement. Wang and his co-conspirators are accused in an indictment of helping North Koreans obtain remote information technology work with US companies that generated more than $5 million in revenue. The Justice Department said the defendants compromised the identities of more than 80 US individuals to obtain remote IT jobs at more than 100 US companies, including many Fortune 500 firms. The remote North Korean workers received regular salary payments and in some cases stole sensitive employer information such as export controlled US military technology and virtual currency, it said. "These schemes target and steal from US companies and are designed to evade sanctions and fund the North Korean regime's illicit programs, including its weapons programs," Assistant Attorney General John Eisenberg said. US Attorney Leah Foley said the "threat posed by (North Korean) operatives is both real and immediate. "Thousands of North Korean cyber operatives have been trained and deployed by the regime to blend into the global digital workforce and systematically target US companies," Foley said.
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
DOJ announces arrest, indictments in North Korean IT worker scheme
(Reuters) -The U.S. Department of Justice and FBI on Monday announced an arrest and indictments targeting North Korea's so-called 'IT worker' program, where North Koreans obtain remote IT-related positions at more than 100 U.S. companies, and use that access to steal money and information from a host of companies around the world. The North Korean workers used compromised identities of more than 80 U.S. citizens to obtain remote jobs at more than 100 U.S. companies and caused more than $3 million in legal fees, remediation and other costs, according to the DOJ. The North Koreans also allegedly stole at least $900,000 worth of cryptocurrency from one Georgia-based company with their access, along with employer data and source code, including International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) data, from a California-based defense contractor, the DOJ said. Monday's announcement included one arrest, two indictments, searches of more than two dozen U.S. locations hosting multiple laptops used by remote North Korean workers, and the seizure of financial accounts and websites used by the participants as part of the alleged scheme, according to a DOJ statement. The Permanent Mission of North Korea to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Zhenxing 'Danny' Wang and Kejia Wang, both U.S. citizens, were indicted as part of the operation, according to the DOJ. Zhenxing Wang was arrested in New Jersey, while Kejia Wang remains free, a DOJ spokesperson said in an email. An attorney for Zhenxing Wang could not be immediately located. The two men, along with four other unnamed U.S. 'facilitators,' assisted the North Koreans by procuring and operating laptops used by the overseas workers, created financial accounts to receive money earned by the workers to be sent back to North Korea, and created shell companies to make the workers appear more authentic, according to the DOJ, earning nearly $700,000 from the scheme for themselves. Federal prosecutors also indicted four Chinese nationals and two Taiwanese nationals for alleged roles in the operation.
