Microsoft On the Issues blog
Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2025 summary: North Korean remote IT workers and extortion · 2025-10-16T14:06:28+00:00 (published_time)
North Korea remains focused on revenue generation and espionage. In a trend that has gained significant attention, thousands of state-affiliated North Korean remote IT workers have applied for jobs with companies around the world, sending their salaries back to the government as remittances. When discovered, some of these workers have turned to extortion as another approach to bringing in money for the regime.