UK firms told to hold video or in-person job interviews amid North Korea IT scam

British companies are being urged to carry out job interviews for IT workers on video or in person to head off the threat of giving jobs to fake North Korean employees.

- Dan Milmo

The warning was made after analysts said the UK had become a prime target for hoax IT workers deployed by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. They are typically hired to work remotely, enabling them to escape detection and send their wages to Kim Jong-un's state.

Google said in a report this month that a case uncovered last year involved a single North Korean worker deploying at least 12 personas across Europe and the US.

The IT worker was seeking jobs within the defence industry and government sectors. Under a new tactic, the bogus IT professionals have been threatening to release sensitive company data after being fired.

John Hultquist, the chief analyst at Google's threat intelligence group, said that North Korea had turned to Europe, and the UK in particular, after it became more difficult to implement its fake worker ploy in the US.

He said: "North Korea is facing pressure in the US and it is particularly focused on the UK for extending its IT worker tactic. It is in the UK where you can see the most extensive operations in Europe."