I was reading about security today and I learned that North Korean hackers are posing as remote IT workers.
We’re living in a time when trust is fragile, especially when so much of the hiring process relies on digital interactions. This one company, don't really know whether in the UK, US, or Australia, learned the hard way after bringing on someone who wasn’t just underqualified.
He was straight-up downloading their sensitive data, then holding it for ransom.
Damn!
I mean, what would you do if that happened to you? Panic, obviously, but beyond that... It’s a harsh reminder that cyber threats aren’t just about complex hacking techniques, they often happen because of simple human mistakes.
I’ve always been skeptical about the whole “hire remotely, and anyone can work from anywhere” thing. It’s efficient indeed, but who’s really on the other end of the screen? Even with all the background checks, people can still fake documents and identities. North Korea allegedly have an entire system set up to exploit this, funneling wages from these schemes straight back into the country.
It turns out that the very freedom that makes remote work possible also makes companies vulnerable. It’s just... unsettling to think how easy it is for someone with bad intentions to slip through the cracks. Even with all the tools we have, we’re still human. Still so easily tricked.
Where does that leave us?