Biz hired, and fired, a fake North Korean IT worker – then the ransom demands began

'My webcam isn't working today' is the new 'The dog ate my network'

It's a pattern cropping up more and more frequently: a company fills an IT contractor post, not realizing it's mistakenly hired a North Korean operative. The phony worker almost immediately begins exfiltrating sensitive data, before being fired for poor performance. Then the six-figure ransom demands - accompanied by proof of the stolen files - start appearing....