CBS News has obtained an exclusive video of a man with alleged ties to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's regime during what he thought was an interview for a job at an American tech company.

Houston

Nick Percoco and Dan Burkowski uncovered a suspected operative linked to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's regime by inviting him to a Zoom call under the pretense of a job interview at the cryptocurrency platform, Kraken. The individual, identified as Steven Smith, was flagged by a law enforcement do-not-hire list as a potential member of Kim Jong Un’s cyber army. The intent behind this operation was to infiltrate tech companies to steal intellectual property and funds, a tactic reportedly employed by Pyongyang's cyber operations.

The video, obtained by CBS News, showed Smith struggling to provide identification during the Zoom call, offering allegedly falsified documents. This kind of infiltration is a growing concern within the U.S. tech industry, according to cybersecurity expert Dimitri Alperovitch. The influence of remote work has exacerbated the issue, allowing operatives to pose as legitimate remote employees while supporting the regime's weapon programs.

The FBI has responded by issuing wanted posters for suspected North Korean agents and has arrested individuals involved in concealing these operatives' identities within the U.S. through computer hubs in Arizona and Tennessee. Officials suggest the extent of this scheme is global, with potential hundreds involved, raising concerns about other tech companies unknowingly employing such infiltration operatives.



Crypto company confronts suspected North Korean operative

To catch a suspected North Korean operative, you first have to invite him to a Zoom call. Hey Steven, how are you? Hey, I'm good. Or at least that's what Nick Percoco and Dan Burkowski did. Meet Steven Smith. A do-not-hire list shared by law enforcement flagged him as a suspected member of Kim Jong-un's cyber army after he applied for an IT job at their crypto platform Kraken. I think most tech professionals would have avoided the suspected North Korean spy. We like to look the attackers right in the eyes. Some people might call it trolling as well. We call it security research. Research into a scheme that FBI intelligence analysts tell us drains hundreds of millions from American companies. Pyongyang's cyber ops secretly joined the rank and file of the tech industry disguised as remote workers. Their job is to start employment, to steal intellectual property, steal money from those companies. Take home a paycheck. Take home a paycheck, yes. And do it in a widespread way. Kraken recorded Steven's Zoom call and shared it with us. On his resume, he listed foods as an interest. I'm actually traveling down to Texas. Texas is absolutely amazing. I'm taking my wife there. Any suggestions? I don't know where I should do that. Nothing special here. When asked for his ID, the Houston resident hymns and haws for nearly three minutes before offering up this phony screenshot. A license showing an address 300 miles away. How big of a problem is this for your industry? Not just our industry. I think this is a big problem for all U.S. industries. Dimitri Alperovitch, a cybersecurity pioneer, says the problem grew with remote work and says it's fueling a state-run weapons program. This is a huge problem because these people, they're not just North Koreans. They're North Koreans working for their munitions industry department. They're working for the Korean People's Army. This is essentially fueling Kim Jong-un's nuclear program, ballistic missile program. It is going directly to those programs. The FBI has issued a wanted poster of alleged North Korean agents and arrested Americans hosting laptop farms in Arizona and Tennessee. Computer hubs inside the U.S. that conceal the cyber criminals' real identities. They cannot do this fraud without support here in America from witting on witting actors. So they have hired probably hundreds of people. FBI officials say the IT worker scheme is expanding worldwide. As for Smith, all traces of him online have vanished. Do you think Stephen might have been hired at another tech firm? Oh, certainly.

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