The U.S. Department of Justice has taken significant legal action against North Korea’s covert efforts to fund its nuclear weapons program through a sophisticated network of remote IT workers operating under the guise of legitimate U.S. employees. The operation, which spanned from 2021 to 2024, allegedly generated over $5 million in illicit revenue, with perpetrators impersonating U.S. citizens to secure remote employment at over 100 American tech companies. This scheme, led by U.S. national Zhenxing ‘Danny’ Wang, involved the use of laptop farms, KVM switches, and shell companies to conceal the workers’ identities and funnel funds abroad. The DOJ also revealed that sensitive data, such as source code, was stolen from a California-based defense contractor specializing in artificial intelligence technologies. The disruptions mark a major blow to North Korea’s ability to finance its military programs through cybercrime.