The North Korean Operation That Turned Remote Work Into a Massive Weapons Pipeline

Change Agents with Andy Stumpf

IRONCLAD

Society & Culture

4.9 • 648 Ratings

🗓️ 24 September 2025

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On today’s episode, Andy sits down with Bobbie Johnson, senior editor at Wired and an investigative journalist with deep experience covering technology, security, and digital culture. Bobbie unpacks a startling new investigation into how North Korea has infiltrated Western tech companies through remote work schemes. Using fake identities, stolen documents, and AI-powered tools to breeze through coding tests and interviews, North Korean operatives have managed to secure jobs at hundreds of U.S. companies. With the help of facilitators inside the United States, these workers receive laptops, funnel salaries back to Pyongyang, and generate millions for the regime’s weapons programs. The conversation explores how these tactics threaten both national security and private industry, why they’re so hard to detect, and what steps companies can take to guard against them. Change Agents is an IRONCLAD Original Firecracker Farm Use code IRONCLAD to get 15% off your first order at https://firecracker.farm/ AmmoSquared Visit https://ammosquared.com/ today for a special offer and keep yourself fully stocked. With over 100,000 members and thousands of 5-star ratings, Your readiness is their mission. TacPack Visit http://www.TacPack.com and use code IRONCLAD at checkout to get a free $70 tactical gift Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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1:01.6	They're doing the job, so should we really be worried?
1:04.6	There are reasons to be worried, right?
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