Home / Crime and Justice / Texas Laptop Farms Fuel N. Korean Hacking Scheme
Texas Laptop Farms Fuel N. Korean Hacking Scheme
14 Oct
Summary
- US indicts individuals and raids Texas 'laptop farms' used for hacking.
- North Korean hackers are recruiting Americans as facilitators.
- Over 70 US companies infiltrated, generating millions in stolen funds.
The U.S. Department of Justice has warned that hackers tied to the North Korean regime are increasingly relying on American facilitators to infiltrate U.S. companies. Prosecutors announced indictments and arrests, alongside raids on over 40 "laptop farms" across Texas. These locations, allegedly operated by at least two American facilitators, housed over 180 computers believed to have been used by North Koreans to remotely steal sensitive data.
North Korean IT workers are reportedly recruiting American facilitators to overcome enhanced detection measures by the private sector and law enforcement. These facilitators assist with a variety of tasks, and in some cases, entire jobs are subcontracted to foreign nationals. CrowdStrike noted that these "laptop farms" are crucial for North Korea to bypass physical, financial, and legal obstacles of operating within the United States.
At least 70 U.S.-based companies, spanning healthcare, cyber support, retail, communications, and manufacturing sectors across Ohio and 16 other states, were infiltrated. The hackers are estimated to have generated approximately $3 million in stolen funds. This operation is part of a broader scheme by North Korea to generate revenue for its sanctioned nuclear weapons program, which also includes hacking cryptocurrency exchanges.
