Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Security firm experiencing nightmare after learning remote employee is North Korean hacker
Fox Business News ^ | 7/25/24

Posted on 07/26/2024 9:41:53 AM PDT by EBH

A digital security firm got the shock of a lifetime when it came to light that one of its remote workers was actually a North Korean hacker after he infected his new company laptop with malware.

"The moment it was received, it immediately started to load malware," security firm KnowBe4 wrote in a blog post about the incident. The company stressed that "no illegal access was gained, and no data was lost, compromised or exfiltrated on any KnowBe4 systems."

"KnowBe4 needed a software engineer for our internal IT AI team," the company explained. "We posted the job, received resumes, conducted interviews, performed background checks, verified references and hired the person. We sent them their Mac workstation, and the moment it was received, it immediately started to load malware."

KnowBe4 hired the unnamed employee and noticed "a series of suspicious activities" on July 15 after sending a Mac laptop to the employee for work purposes. The company reached out to the user, but the employee responded that he was troubleshooting a "speed issue" and may have "caused a compromise."

(Excerpt) Read more at foxbusiness.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Foreign Affairs; Government
KEYWORDS: cybersecurity; knowbe4; northkorea; remotework
Work from home...wow.
1 posted on 07/26/2024 9:41:53 AM PDT by EBH
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: EBH

KnowBe4 is another very strong and widely-utilized security utility, as is CrowdStrike.

They didn’t hesitate to share this incident with the public because they detected and prevented this individual’s malicious activities very quickly.

Insider threats occur constantly, even from domestic employee who spend their work hours in physical company offices.


2 posted on 07/26/2024 9:46:29 AM PDT by ConservativeWarrior (Fall down seven times, stand up eight. - Japanese proverb)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ConservativeWarrior

A security firm that didn’t KnowBe4 they hired him.


3 posted on 07/26/2024 10:00:47 AM PDT by bgill
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: EBH

Diversity is grand ain’t it?...


4 posted on 07/26/2024 10:07:53 AM PDT by Resolute Conservative
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: EBH

I remember when proof of US citizenship was part of getting hired. Now companies seem to prefer to hire foreigners, whether H1-B or otherwise.


5 posted on 07/26/2024 10:08:15 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy (It will be Michelle.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: EBH

6 posted on 07/26/2024 10:11:23 AM PDT by Seruzawa ("The Political left is the Garden of Eden of incompetence" - Marx the Smarter (Groucho))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: EBH

They sent the remote employee a computer. Was it addressed to North Korea? Wouldn’t that been a clue?


7 posted on 07/26/2024 10:12:05 AM PDT by HombreSecreto (The life of a repo man is always intense)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: EBH

There’s remote and there’s.......way out remote. 🌏🥡🥡🍚🍵


8 posted on 07/26/2024 10:12:22 AM PDT by frank ballenger (There's a battle outside and it's raging. It'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Resolute Conservative

That’s it.


9 posted on 07/26/2024 10:14:44 AM PDT by stevio (Fight until you die!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: EBH
Yeah, blame the North Koreans.

The guy was from Communist China, or more likely, a government 3-letter agency contractor who screwed something up while installing or updating a government spyware application.

His remote account is set to look like it's coming from North Korea because they can't be so obvious and have it show that his account is from northern Virginia and directly connected to a server.

10 posted on 07/26/2024 10:16:26 AM PDT by T.B. Yoits
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: EBH

My brother was in Viet Nam and remembers the time when it was discovered that the man who ran the cyclo stand outside the compound where he worked in Saigon was the head of a North Vietnam spy ring.


11 posted on 07/26/2024 10:22:46 AM PDT by COBOL2Java (The country bounces along like Custer on the way to Little Big Horn, thanks to Dear Leader)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: EBH

More success from DEI employees?


12 posted on 07/26/2024 10:34:41 AM PDT by antidemoncrat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: EBH
Don't know if anyone else finds this funny but I find it down right hilarious.

These people may be good at writing code but their security protocols for hiring are abysmal.

13 posted on 07/26/2024 10:38:19 AM PDT by Harmless Teddy Bear ( Roses are red, Violets are blue, I love being on the government watch list, along with all of you.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: EBH

14 posted on 07/26/2024 10:44:55 AM PDT by null and void (I identify as a conspiracy theorist. My personal pronouns are told/you/so.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: EBH

This is unintentionally hilarious. My employer assigns KnowBe4 security training to us. Each mini episode is about a hacker gaining inside access as an employee, and the whole series is called The Inside Man.

The whole point is not to let it happen to us.


15 posted on 07/26/2024 7:01:25 PM PDT by scott7278 (Those who beat their swords into plowshares usually end up plowing for those who kept their swords.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson