Encore: The Billion Dollar Hiring Scam Funding North Korea

Encore: The Billion Dollar Hiring Scam Funding North Korea

From Threat Vector by Palo Alto Networks by Palo Alto Networks and N2K Networks

July 9, 2026 · 38 min · Season 9 · Episode 106

About this episode

This episode discusses how North Korea exploits hiring processes to infiltrate global companies.

Enjoy this encore episode of Threat Vector by Palo Alto Networks. North Korea has turned your hiring pipeline into a revenue machine. And most organizations have no idea. ⁠Evan Gordenker⁠, Director of AI Security and DPRK Operations at Unit 42, has led more than 160 investigations into sophisticated threat actors, including the North Korean IT worker networks quietly embedded inside global companies. He joins⁠ ⁠⁠David Moulton⁠ to unpack how this operation actually works, why common assumptions about remote work leave organizations exposed, and what security and HR teams can do to detect and disrupt it. You'll learn: - How DPRK operatives use deepfakes, fabricated identities, and real accomplice networks to pass interviews and land jobs at global companies - Why "we don't hire remote" is a dangerous assumption that no longer holds - What signals HR and SOC teams should look for, before and after someone is hired - How the threat has evolved from quiet wage theft to active extortion of former employers - What government collaboration and cross-border intelligence sharing can realistically accomplish Evan contributed to the UN Sanctions Monitoring Team report on North Korean…

People in this episode

Host: David Moulton

Guest: Evan Gordenker

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Palo Alto Networks, Unit 42, UN Sanctions Monitoring Team

Places: North Korea, US, EU, Japan

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