North Korea's 100,000-strong fake IT worker army rake in $500M a year for Kim Jong Un

2026-03-20

IBM X-Force and Flare Research mapped the full org chart of North Korea's fake IT worker operation, revealing 100,000+ workers across 40 countries earning $500M annually for Pyongyang via a structured hierarchy of recruiters, facilitators, and Western collaborators using tools like OConnect VPN and IP Messenger to secure and maintain remote IT roles at Western companies.