North Korean IT workers have targeted Coinbase by seeking remote employment to access the exchange's sensitive systems. Coinbase identified attempts including reshipped laptops, virtual interviews conducted by intermediaries, and front companies facilitating access. The FBI warned that these IT workers operate to illicitly generate substantial revenue for the regime and collaborate with witting and unwitting US-based facilitators. Coinbase now requires in-person orientation in the US, US citizenship and fingerprinting for anyone with access to sensitive systems, and camera-on interviews to confirm identity and prevent coaching or AI-driven deception. Coinbase continues to coordinate with law enforcement as threats evolve.
Coinbase prides itself on "remote-first" work, but CEO Brian Armstrong said the company was forced to make changes to thwart a foe: North Korea. Armstrong said that North Korean IT workers have tried to leverage the company's remote work policy to gain employment and then access to the crypto exchange's sensitive systems. Coinbase works with law enforcement, but Armstrong said the threat just keeps growing.
Last month, the FBI put out an updated warning about North Korean IT workers who target private companies "to illicitly generate substantial revenue for the regime." The FBI said that the IT workers work with both "witting and unwitting" people within the US. The FBI said US-based facilitators have reshipped company laptops, attended virtual interviews on behalf of North Korean workers, and even created front businesses.
Armstrong said that Coinbase is requiring all workers to come to the US for in-person orientation and that anyone with access to sensitive systems must hold US citizenship and submit to fingerprinting. Armstrong said that in many cases, workers themselves might be a target and are being coerced to participate. He said that Coinbase requires prospective employees to turn on their camera during interviews "to prove they're not AI" or not being coached.
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