The North Korean IT worker scheme, explained. A new kind of threat is quietly slipping into the remote workforce. At first glance, the job applicants look normal enough. Polished resumes. Sharp skills. Professional headshots. But behind their green screen Zoom background lies a startling secret: They’re North Korean operatives. Thousands of North Korean workers are securing remote roles at companies across the US, Europe, and East Asia. They’re using fake identities to earn real paychecks — paychecks that directly fund the North Korean government. I wanted to find out what it takes to actually meet one of these workers. So I went down a rabbit hole — and found a story even stranger than I expected.