The Biden administration let our enemies walk right through the front door.
They handed over the keys to America’s most sensitive companies.
And North Korean hackers just got caught red-handed in a scheme so massive it will leave you shell-shocked.
North Korea’s cyber army infiltrated Fortune 500 companies
Federal authorities just cracked wide open one of the most brazen cyber schemes in American history.
North Korean operatives didn’t just hack into our systems from the outside.
They got themselves hired by more than 100 major American corporations, including some of the biggest names in business, and stole millions right from under their noses.
The Department of Justice announced Monday that multiple individuals have been indicted in two separate schemes involving North Korean IT workers infiltrating U.S. corporations through elaborate identity theft and fraud operations.
These weren’t just any companies either.
The scheme targeted defense contractors developing advanced AI-powered military systems and weapons technology.
That means North Korean spies had access to classified defense information covered under International Traffic in Arms Regulations – some of America’s most sensitive military secrets.
"North Korea remains intent on funding its weapons programs by defrauding U.S. companies and exploiting American victims of identity theft, but the FBI is equally intent on disrupting this massive campaign and bringing its perpetrators to justice," Assistant Attorney General John A. Eisenberg of the DOJ’s National Security Division said.
They stole identities of 80 Americans to pull off this con
Here’s how these criminals pulled off their elaborate con game.
U.S.-based co-conspirators created fake front companies with fraudulent websites to make the North Korean workers look legitimate.
They set up "laptop farms" where the overseas operatives could remotely access company computers without anyone knowing.
The scheme used stolen identities from more than 80 Americans between 2021 and 2024 to secure remote positions at major corporations.
These identity theft victims had no idea their names were being used to funnel money directly to North Korea’s weapons programs.
Zhenxing Wang, a U.S. national from New Jersey, has been arrested as the ringleader of one operation that generated over $5 million in revenue for the North Korean regime.
The co-conspirators in the main indictment include Chinese nationals Jing Bin Huang, Baoyu Zhou, Tong Yuze, Yongzhe Xu, Ziyou Yuan and Zhenbang Zhou, plus Taiwanese nationals Mengting Liu and Enchia Liu.
In exchange for their services, the U.S. facilitators received at least $696,000 from the overseas IT workers.
The damage goes far beyond money
The financial theft is just the tip of the iceberg.
FBI Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the Counterintelligence Division revealed that "North Korean IT workers posing as U.S. citizens fraudulently obtained employment with American businesses so they could funnel hundreds of millions of dollars to North Korea’s authoritarian regime."²
But it gets worse.
In a separate case, four North Korean nationals – Kim Kwang Jin, Kang Tae Bok, Jong Pong Ju and Chang Nam II – allegedly stole virtual currency worth over $900,000 from blockchain companies.
These operatives traveled to the United Arab Emirates on North Korean passports and worked as a coordinated team to infiltrate an Atlanta-based blockchain research company and a Serbian virtual token company.
They earned their employers’ trust, then robbed them blind.
This is what happens when America goes soft on our enemies
The scale of this operation should terrify every American.
U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley for the District of Massachusetts warned that "thousands of North Korean cyber operatives have been trained and deployed by the regime to blend into the global digital workforce and systematically target U.S. companies."³
Think about that for a second.
Thousands of enemy agents are already embedded in American companies, stealing our secrets and funding weapons programs designed to threaten our homeland.
The affected companies faced significant costs including legal expenses, network security repairs, and other financial damages totaling at least $3 million.
But the real cost is our national security.
While these criminals were busy stealing American technology and defense secrets, the Biden administration was focused on pronouns and climate change.
The FBI finally took action
To their credit, federal authorities didn’t just sit on their hands once they discovered this massive breach.
The FBI executed searches at 21 locations across 14 states, seizing 137 laptops used in the scheme.
They also grabbed 17 web domains and froze 29 financial accounts holding tens of thousands of dollars.
The Defense Criminal Investigative Service helped track down the money trail that led straight back to North Korea’s weapons programs.
But here’s the thing that should make every American furious.
This scheme operated for years under the previous administration’s watch.
How many other enemy operatives are still out there, stealing our secrets and funding attacks against America?
The four North Korean nationals in the blockchain theft case remain at large and are wanted by the FBI.
U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg for the Northern District of Georgia said the case "highlights the unique threat North Korea poses to companies that hire remote IT workers."⁴
America needs to wake up to the cyber threat
This isn’t just about North Korea.
China, Iran, and other hostile nations are using the same playbook to infiltrate American companies and steal our most sensitive information.
The remote work revolution that followed the pandemic created a perfect storm for foreign espionage.
Companies got sloppy about verifying the identities of remote workers, and our enemies took full advantage.
Now we’re paying the price with compromised defense contractors, stolen technology, and millions of dollars flowing to regimes that want to destroy America.
The Biden administration’s weak response to cyber threats emboldened our enemies to take bigger risks.
They knew there would be minimal consequences for their actions.
But this massive bust shows what happens when law enforcement finally gets serious about protecting American companies and workers.
The question is whether it’s too little, too late.
¹ Fox News, "North Korean IT workers infiltrated Fortune 500 companies in massive fraud scheme," June 30, 2025
