South Korea, US, Japan Voice Serious Concerns Over North Korean IT Workers' 'Malicious' Cyber Activities

(MENAFN- IANS) Seoul, Aug 27 (IANS) South Korea, the United States and Japan on Wednesday voiced "serious concerns" over evolving malicious cyber activities by North Korean information technology (IT) workers who use artificial intelligence (AI) tools and other means to fund Pyongyang's illicit weapons programmes.

The three countries issued the call in a joint statement, reaffirming the shared commitment to continued trilateral coordination to counter the North's unlawful cyber activities that pose serious risks to the international community, Yonhap News Agency reported.

"North Korea continues to dispatch its IT workers around the world to generate revenue, which funds its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs, in violation of UN Security Council resolutions," the statement issued by the foreign ministry showed.

"Japan, the United States, and the Republic of Korea express serious concerns over the evolving malicious activities of North Korean IT workers," it read.

The statement said that North Korean IT workers use a variety of techniques to disguise themselves as non-North Koreans with false identities and locations, including by "leveraging AI tools as well as cooperating with foreign facilitators."

It said that they take advantage of existing demands for advanced IT skills to obtain freelance employment contracts from across the world, noting that many of them are particularly engaged in blockchain industries.

The three countries warned that hiring and outsourcing work to North Korean IT workers "increasingly pose serious risks," such as intellectual property theft, reputational harm and legal consequences.

In this vein, each of the three countries has taken actions to disrupt these activities by North Korean IT workers, with Japan updating its alert to provide detailed information about their activities and advising the private sector to reduce the risk of inadvertently hiring them or outsourcing work to these groups.

The US is sanctioning four entities and individuals in connection with these schemes overseas, including in Russia, Laos and China. South Korea has also issued advisories to help companies avoid being targeted.

"Japan, the United States, and the Republic of Korea reaffirm their commitment to enhancing their coordination, and deepening collaboration between the public and private sector to counter malicious cyber activities and illicit revenue generation by North Korea," the statement said.

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