North Korea stole your job
Even security experts can be deceived. In July 2024, Knowbe4, a Florida -based company that offers security training, discovered that a new employment known as Kyle is actually an external factor. “He interviewed a great interview,” says Brian Jack, chief of information security. “He was on the camera, his Résumé was right, his foreground review was erased, he deleted his ID confirmation. We have no reason to think this was not a valid candidate.” But when the US-based faciliter-based faciliter wearing it-tried to install malware on Kyle’s computer, the security team was caught and closed.
Return to London, Simon Wijckmans failed to give up the idea that someone has tried to deceive him. He had only read about the Knowbe4 case, which deepened his suspicions. He conducted background investigations and realized that some of his candidates were definitely using stolen identities. And, he found that some of them were related to the well -known North Korean operations. So Wijckmans decided to do a little exercise, and he invited me to see.
I meet at 3am the Pacific, tired and cool to go to Google. We deliberately chose this initial watch because it is in Miami at 6am, where the Harry fiancé claims.
Harry comes to call and looks very fresh. She may be short, smooth and black in the late twenties. Everything seems to be deliberately non -specific about him: he wears a simple black crew jacket and speaks in an out -of -brand headset. “I woke up early today for this interview, it’s okay,” he says. “I know that working with England is a kind of need, so I can get your work hours, so there’s no problem with it.”
So far everything matches the characteristics of a fake worker. Harry’s virtual background is one of the default options provided by Google Meet and his connection is a slow touch. His English is good but he is extremely accent, even if he tells us that he was born in New York and grew up in Brooklyn. Wijckmans starts with some ordinary interview questions and Harry looks at his right when answering. He speaks of different programming languages and names the frameworks he is familiar with. Wijckmans starts asking some deeper technical questions. Harry pauses. He looks confused. “Can I join the meeting again?” He asks. “I have a problem with your microphone.” Wijckman knots, and Harry disappears.
A few minutes passed, and I begin to scare him, but then he enters the meeting again. His relationship is not much better, but his answers are clearer. Maybe he set up his dad chat, or got a colleague for his coaching. The call will run for a few minutes and we say goodbye.
Our next applicant calls himself “Nick”. In his case, he has found a link to a personal website, but this man is not like a profile photo on the site. This is his second interview with Wijckmans, and we are convinced that he is forging it: he is one of the applicants who defeated the background after his first call, though he doesn’t know it.
Nick’s English is worse than Harry: When he was asked how much he was, he tells us “six and the past” before his correction and say “quarter to seven”. Where does he live? “I’m in Ohio for now,” he said.
