Remote work has opened up incredible flexibility and access to talent, but it’s also made it easier than ever for bad actors to slip through the cracks.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that North Korean IT workers had infiltrated hundreds of U.S. companies by faking résumés, identities, and interviews, all while secretly sending their pay back to a sanctioned regime. They used AI tools to create convincing profiles, spoofed their locations, and even deepfaked live video interviews. One job was “shared” by multiple people, taking shifts to appear available and productive.
These weren’t one-off cases. They were part of a coordinated effort that succeeded because remote work made it possible to work from anywhere, and made it easy for employers to never really know who they were hiring.
The role of AI in employment fraud
With the rise of AI, it’s no longer difficult to fake your way into a job. AI tools can write cover letters, polish résumés, generate fake references, create synthetic headshots, and even clone voices or swap faces during a live video call. And because remote jobs are often filled quickly — with little or no face-to-face interaction — it’s easier than ever for someone to misrepresent who they are.
Why it matters for your business
If someone gains access to your internal systems — even for a short time — they may be able to:
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Steal sensitive customer data
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Plant backdoors or malware
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Copy proprietary documents, plans, or source code
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Move laterally into connected systems
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Create compliance liabilities you didn’t see coming
This isn't just a big company problem. In fact, small and mid-sized businesses are often targeted because they lack the same level of verification and security controls.
What can you do?
Even if you’re not in a position to thoroughly vet every remote hire, you can still reduce your risk:
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Restrict access: Only give users access to the data and systems they need, and only for as long as they need it.
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Monitor usage: Watch for login attempts from unusual locations, odd working hours, or unexpected spikes in activity.
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Use MFA everywhere: Multi-factor authentication can’t stop someone from getting hired under false pretenses — but it makes it harder for attackers to hijack accounts later.
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Separate critical data: Keep your most sensitive systems segmented from general user access.
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Keep good logs: When something does go wrong, audit logs are often your best hope for figuring out how, when, and where.