Two US Men Jailed for Helping North Korean Hackers Infiltrate US Firms

Summary

Matthew Knoot and Erick Prince were jailed for 18 months each for facilitating a North Korean hacking operation that compromised over 70 US companies and generated $1.2 million. The duo ran remote laptop farms that allowed North Korean workers using stolen identities to pose as legitimate US-based IT employees, while the men received payment for hosting the equipment and enabling the fraud. Both men have been ordered to repay stolen funds as part of the DoJ's DPRK RevGen: Domestic Enabler Initiative targeting US facilitators of foreign threat actors.

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Cyber CrimeTwo US Men Jailed for Helping North Korean Hackers Infiltrate US Firms Matthew Knoot and Erick Prince have been jailed for 18 months each for helping North Korean hackers infiltrate US firms through remote laptop farms. byDeeba AhmedMay 10, 20262 minute read Two Americans are headed to prison for helping North Korean hackers compromise US corporate networks. The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has announced that the accused, Matthew Isaac Knoot from Nashville and Erick Ntekereze Prince from New York, both got 18-month sentences for their involvement in the scam. The sentencing marks a major step in stopping foreign scammers from using ordinary business systems to fund their operations. The duo collectively ran a laptop farm, keeping company-issued computers at their homes so overseas workers could appear to be operating from within the US. While the companies thought they were hiring locals, the workers were actually sending money back to the North Korean government, and the two men facilitated this deception. How the Fraud Worked According to the DoJ’s press release, the whole saga began with hackers using stolen identities to get remote IT jobs. When a company hired one of these workers, they sent a work laptop to the address on the application, which landed at the homes of Knoot and Prince. Afterward, the men installed remote desktop applications to let someone control a computer from afar, in this case, from another country. Using this software, North Korean workers logged in from overseas, but their employer thought they were working from Nashville or New York. One worker even used the stolen name Andrew M. while Knoot looked after the hardware. Reportedly, Prince used his business, Taggcar Inc., to help find these jobs. Now the duo is paying the price for these wrongdoings. US Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones noted that these were not just small mistakes but “deliberate acts that exposed US businesses, compromised trust, and supported one of the world’s most dangerous adversaries.” A Costly Criminal Network The operation was huge, targeting at least 70 companies with over $1.2 million made through the scheme, most of which went to North Korea, a country that’s facing strict sanctions. The scheme went on for years. Knoot’s farm was active from July 2022 to August 2023, when the FBI raided his house, whereas Prince’s farm lasted even longer- from June 2020 to August 2024. Some other suspects linked to this scheme have also been identified, including Emanuel Ashtor, Pedro Ernesto Alonso de los Reyes, and two North Koreans named Jin Sung-il and Pak Jin-Song. They are currently on the run. Both men have been ordered to give back the money they were paid by the hackers for running the laptop farm. Prince will give up $89,000 (the total he received for hosting the equipment and helping the workers get hired), and Knoot will pay $15,100 back to the victim companies. This crackdown is part of a project called the DPRK RevGen: Domestic Enabler Initiative. It focuses on catching people inside the US who help foreign threat actors. (Photo by Towfiqu Barbhuiya on Unsplash) Deeba Ahmed Deeba is a veteran cybersecurity reporter at Hackread.com with over a decade of experience covering cybercrime, vulnerabilities, and security events. Her expertise and in-depth analysis make her a key contributor to the platform’s trusted coverage. View Posts CybersecurityErick PrinceFraudLaptop FarmsMatthew KnootNorth KoreaScamUSA Leave a Reply Cancel reply View Comments (0) Related Posts Cyber Crime How To Streamline Customer Screening Today. Here’s How. When it comes to preventing financial crime such as anti-money laundering, organizations need to make use of a customer screening process that takes human errors into account - Let's dig deeper! byWaqas Cyber Crime Social Media How Apple and Facebook Helped US to Arrest Kickass Torrents’ Owner Kickass Torrents’ owner Artem Vaulin has been arrested but the way Apple, Facebook and Coinbase helped the US authorities… byRyan De Souza Cyber Crime Leader of biggest online sextortion ring ‘Nth Room’ jailed for 40 years Cho Ju-Bin was accused of forcing at least 74 females, including 16 minors, into Virtual Enslavement on Nth Room to produce explicit content. byWaqas Cyber Crime Cyber Attacks Internet’s largest 1Tbps DDoS Attack was conducted using 145k hacked cameras Thousands of Hacked Cameras, DVRs and IoT devices responsible for Biggest DDoS Attacks to date. Previously we informed… byWaqas

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