Maryland man pleads guilty to outsourcing US govt work to North Korean dev in China
- Reference: 1746036190
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/04/30/maryland_man_farming_web_dev/
- Source link:
Minh Phuong Ngoc Vong is a Vietnamese-born naturalized US citizen. He recently [1]pleaded guilty conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his role in a multi-year scheme that defraud US companies into hiring him as a remote software developer, while the actual work was carried out by individuals overseas. He was [2]indicted in May 2024.
According to prosecutors, Vong conspired with a foreign national living in Shenyang, China, who described himself in online communications as a North Korean software developer. In January 2023, the overseas coder used Vong's identity to submit a bogus resume to a Virginia-based technology company seeking a full-stack web developer. The resume falsely claimed Vong held a bachelor's degree and had 16 years of experience - qualifications Vong did not possess. In reality, he worked at a nail salon in Bowie, Maryland.
[3]
Vong participated in multiple job interviews to land the position, then got assigned to work on a contract for the Federal Aviation Administration. The DoJ describes the contract as "part of a national defense program to develop software used by various other government entities that would allow them to coordinate aviation assets effectively."
[4]
[5]
To enable the overseas developer to work on the project, Vong installed remote access software on a company-issued laptop, allowing access from China while masking the user's location. The self-described North Korean then used that access to perform software development work related to the FAA contract between March and July 2023, the DoJ alleged.
But that wasn't the only job Vong farmed out. As part of his guilty plea, he admitted to similar frauds targeting at least 13 US companies between 2021 and 2024, several of which also contracted his services to federal agencies.
[6]How to spot a North Korean agent before they get comfy inside payroll
[7]The one interview question that will protect you from North Korean fake workers
[8]North Koreans clone open source projects to plant backdoors, steal credentials
[9]'How not to hire a North Korean plant posing as a techie' guide updated by US and South Korean authorities
"As a result of Vong's fraudulent misrepresentations, these government agencies unknowingly granted Vong's co-conspirators access to sensitive US government systems, which they accessed from China," the DoJ said. The scheme reportedly netted Vong more than $970,000 in salary for work he didn't do.
It's not the first time North Korean workers have posed as domestic US IT professionals, with various scams reportedly funneling [10]tens of millions of dollars back to Pyongyang.
[11]
Europe is [12]increasingly being targeted as well, and Japanese citizens have been [13]caught allegedly assisting North Korean workers by helping them pose as domestic hires. In many cases, foreign workers rely on local enablers to receive and set up company-issued laptops, which are then connected to so-called " [14]laptop farms ." This obscures their actual location and allows them to appear as if they're working from within the target country.
It's not clear whether Vong's motive was financial gain or espionage - we've asked the FBI, but they declined to comment. Either way, he's due to be sentenced in August, and faces up to 20 years in prison. ®
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[1] https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/maryland-man-pleads-guilty-conspiracy-commit-wire-fraud
[2] https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/pr/criminal-complaint-charges-two-men-conspiracy-commit-wire-fraud
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/cybercrime&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aBKdfh3ezlDjyunEIgh3nwAAABE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/cybercrime&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aBKdfh3ezlDjyunEIgh3nwAAABE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/cybercrime&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aBKdfh3ezlDjyunEIgh3nwAAABE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/24/mandiant_north_korea_workers/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/29/north_korea_worker_interview_questions/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/29/lazarus_groups_supply_chain_attack/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/19/north_korea_fake_freelance_avoidance/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/12/13/doj_dpkr_fake_tech_worker_indictment/
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/cybercrime&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aBKdfh3ezlDjyunEIgh3nwAAABE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/02/north_korean_fake_techies_target_europe/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/28/japan_nk_arrests/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2024/07/24/knowbe4_north_korean/
[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Interviews??
Bear in mind the interviews were with a government software contractor, not a direct hire. The hiring company clearly didn't care so long as it raked in its cut.
Re: Interviews??
Make me think the interview process was similarly outsourced.
Doesn't "Full Stack" mean we actually need a team, but aren't willing to pay for one? You just handle all the messy details and we'll take care of the profits?
Re: Interviews??
Well, nail salon workers (and even kindergarteners) can now autowrite [1]20 to 40% of Microsoft's new code using girthy languagerie models so, no real sweat there ... after passing the online interview (teams, zoom, ...) with access to ChatGPT/Voice.
So Vong coulda done his dirty deeds, dirt cheap, with such easy bake oven tool too. But as this case involves a remote North Korean (in China), Vong's LLM would have also needed to be a properly backdoored one, that he'd use willfully through his deviances.
That makes Vong a traitor in my estimation, or an unwitting tool at best.
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/30/microsoft_meta_autocoding/
Outsourcing
Not for the first time actually.
But, if a company can do it, why not an individual?
Could he set himself up as a company and then outsource development?
Outsourced - but fraud?
Did the older clients get (any of) the code/systems that they paid for?[1] If so, how are they relevant to the case?
As noted above, outsourcing is hardly a new idea[2].
Lying on - sorry, embellishing a - CV is hardly breaking news, otherwise many more recruitment agencies would be in the clink. Verifying such things is supposed to be a normal part of the hiring process, especially for any important defense-related contracts - isn't it? Is anyone getting slapped wrists for mising that bit of due diligence?
The main issues here seem to be about breaking security and access rules - assuming the contracts actually said "Thou shalt not install remote access on this, our laptop", that is.
Not saying that he isn't a very naughty boy, but there are gaps in this story.
[1] Or, at a minimum, did they get whatever their contract stipulated before pulling the plug - e.g. if they paid for a report that described whether or not this contractor could complete the entire system and two months later got back a one page saying "no!", then they do have what they paid for!
[2] I know we are not supposed to reference Dilbert these days, but there was a good one about PHB outsourcing some work, as it was cheaper than paying Dilbert et al, until their company put in the lowest bid for a job which turned out to be the same task, now four or five levels of outsourcing deep.
Interviews??
FTA: "...qualifications Vong did not possess. In reality, he worked at a nail salon in Bowie, Maryland. Vong participated in multiple job interviews to land the position..."
Vong did the interviews? Or his North Korean alter-ego did them? Because I can't quite see how a nail salon worker whose claimed experience/qualifications were made-up, could then ace a live interview for a government software contractor. Hell, I did several interviews when I was recently job-hunting in the IT field, and the questions I was asked tended to be a little more challenging than "what oil is best for softening cuticles / how long does gloss lacquer take to harden" . Perhaps it's different for government contractors, though? :)