Guidance

North Korean IT workers advisory: signs to watch for

How UK businesses in the IT, crypto and electronic payments sectors should guard against IT workers from DPRK channelling income to DPRK - in breach of sanctions.

Documents

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email [email protected]. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Details

The DPRK deploys highly skilled IT workers abroad to fraudulently gain employment with companies in the UK, US and elsewhere, and raise revenue for the DPRK regime. These workers primarily operate from Russia and China, but also other parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America.

They often pose as remote, non-DPRK nationals to secure freelance contracts and use a variety of techniques to mask links to the DPRK, including false representation of identity, nationality and location.

This advisory outlines common practices used by DPRK IT workers when soliciting work with UK firms, as well as associated red flags.

Updates to this page

Published 12 September 2024

Sign up for emails or print this page