What Were They Thinking?
Hosting laptops for North Korean con artists masquerading as American IT professionals might earn you a share of the money that Pyongyang extracts from US companies, but as two additional individuals have discovered, it also means facing consequences when the FBI uncovers the situation. Matthew Isaac Knoot, hailing from Nashville, Tennessee, and Erick Ntekereze Prince, of New York, received separate sentences of 18 months in prison, as reported by the Justice Department on Wednesday. Following their prison terms, Prince and Knoot will undergo three years and one year of supervised release, respectively.
The Scheme Unraveled
While the cases differed, the offenses were quite similar, with both Knoot and Prince falsely presenting themselves as either an American IT professional or a business providing IT services executed by Americans, respectively. Both secured positions to carry out IT tasks for US-based companies and provided locations for company-owned laptops at their residences or offices, where remote access software was installed to enable North Koreans to operate from abroad while seeming to be in the United States.
The Moolah and Consequences
According to the DoJ, the duo generated over $1.2 million in deceptive revenue for North Korea, a portion of which was compensated to them for their involvement in the operation. Knoot reportedly received $15,100, which he is required to repay as restitution to the companies and the government; Prince must return approximately $89,000 he received from Kim Jong Un’s regime. Together, Prince and Knoot compelled the nearly 70 US companies they exploited to incur $1.5 million to audit and rectify their devices, systems, and networks to remove any traces of the North Korean intruders.
A Broader Issue
The duo represents the latest to encounter the Justice Department’s ire for facilitating North Korea’s bogus IT worker scheme, which has proven highly effective. The latest data from earlier this year indicates that North Korean IT worker schemes are yielding more than $500 million annually for the Kim regime. This figure does not factor in the monetary value of data pilfered from these organizations, either.
Expanding Their Tentacles
These scams have widened their scope, too. Previously limited to big tech, they’ve also been discovered in the healthcare, finance, and professional services sectors, as all present lucrative opportunities for gathering valuable data along with generating revenue for the regime.
Sentences Landed
Knoot and Prince received relatively lenient sentences compared to some of the earlier individuals sentenced for supporting North Korea’s operations. Kejia Wang and Zhenxing Wang were imprisoned for a total of 200 months when sentenced last month; however, to be fair, their operation was more extensive, their earnings larger, and their targets more significant.
Warning from the FBI
Regardless of the length of time, the FBI remarked that the recent sentences should act as a warning that assisting North Korea in running its IT worker scam is unwise, regardless of the payment offered. “These cases should dispel any doubt that Americans who choose to assist these schemes will be identified and held accountable,” stated FBI cyber division assistant director Brett Leatherman in the announcement. “Hosting laptops for DPRK IT workers is a federal crime which directly affects our national security, and these sentences should caution anyone contemplating such actions.”
Summary: North Korea’s Dodgy Tech Scheme Fails Again
Well, that’s another pair of shady individuals caught red-handed. Knoot and Prince likely believed they had struck gold, but the FBI had different plans. Hosting laptops for North Korean fraudsters, huh? Doesn’t exactly seem like a wise career choice!
