North Korea Denounces U.S. DOJ's Indictment as "Smear Campaign" Amid Allegations of Cybercrime

North Korean authorities have vehemently criticized the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), labeling its recent allegations against the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea (DPRK) as an outrageous smear campaign. This rebuke follows the DOJ's announcement that it has uncovered schemes where DPRK affiliates obtained remote IT jobs from over 100 U.S. firms, including Fortune 500 companies.

According to reports from the DOJ, the operation involved North Korean IT personnel using false identities and remote access to perform work for U.S. companies. Notably, one aspect of the operation involved employees receiving laptops from these companies, only for North Korean workers to access them remotely. Additionally, there was an alleged scam involving a blockchain development company in Georgia, where North Korean hackers reportedly stole more than $900,000 in cryptocurrency.

The DOJ has since published a five-count indictment against Zhenxing Wang, an American citizen residing in New Jersey, who has been arrested in connection with these activities. The indictment also names various foreign nationals from China and Taiwan, along with another U.S. citizen, Kejia "Tony" Wang, also from New Jersey. The DOJ claims these individuals collaborated to generate over $5 million from their illegal IT activities.

In response to these developments, a spokesperson from the DPRK Foreign Ministry condemned the indictment, arguing that it serves to unjustly malign the nation amid ongoing tensions with the U.S. government. Calling the DOJ's actions a breach of sovereignty, the spokesperson claimed that the allegations of cyber threats by the U.S. are unfounded and are part of a broader strategy to destabilize international cyberspace.

The DOJ’s findings also suggest that between 2021 and mid-2024, the accused conspired to compromise the identities of over 80 individuals in the United States, leading to significant financial repercussions for the targeted companies. Legal fees and other costs tied to the breaches are estimated to exceed $3 million.

Furthermore, the indictment claims that Wang and co-conspirators set up shell companies to facilitate their activities, creating a façade of legitimate business transactions while transferring funds to North Korea. Some accused in the indictment reportedly have ties to a defense contractor involved in sensitive artificial intelligence technology.

To curb these illicit operations, the DOJ announced that they successfully seized 17 related web domains and numerous financial accounts believed to have laundered money for the regime. The DOJ also revealed ongoing investigations into four North Korean nationals accused of separate virtual currency theft operations, all of whom remain at large and are wanted by the FBI.