Researchers set up a fake start-up to study North Korean IT job fraudsters

Bruce Schneier has highlighted an unusual study on his blog, Schneier on Security. Its authors set up a fake start-up company in order to study North Korean IT workers who obtain jobs through fraud.

The post, dated October 28, 2026, is tagged "employment", "fraud" and "North Korea". Schneier kept it to a brief note pointing to the researchers' work, without extended commentary.

The approach itself is worth noting. Rather than analysing incidents after the fact, the researchers effectively stepped into the role of an employer. That let them observe the fraudsters in exactly the setting their scheme is designed for.

The original post gives no details of the experiment: no timeline, no number of applicants, no findings. For now, only the method can be discussed. A decoy company looks like a logical tool for studying a threat that surfaces precisely at the hiring stage.

Source: Schneier on Security