North Korean hackers posed as recruiters to infect 30,000 devices worldwide

The hacks occurred from December 2025 through July 2026, according to a joint cybersecurity advisory issued Friday by Japanese, Australian, German, and U.S. authorities.

The hackers lure job seekers through social media, online job platforms, gig-work sites and freelance marketplaces. They asked responders to take part in virtual technical interviews or complete coding assignments. The attackers then instruct targets to download and run malicious files, sometimes under the guise of completing an assignment or troubleshooting a problem with videoconferencing software.