News

Justice Department says North Koreans have infiltrated dozens of U.S. companies

Published

3 weeks ago

October 14, 2026

The U.S. Department of Justice is warning that hackers working for the North Korean regime are increasingly relying on Americans to facilitate the hacking of U.S. companies.

In an announcement on Tuesday, prosecutors said they have indicted and arrested at least two people, and conducted searches across dozens of suspected “laptop farms” in Texas. The computers were allegedly used by North Koreans to remotely hack into American companies and steal sensitive data.

According to the DOJ, federal authorities seized over 180 computers that they believe American companies had shipped out to their newly hired employees, not realizing that they were sanctioned North Korean spies who had used stolen identities of U.S. citizens to gain employment. The DOJ said that it raided over 40 laptop farms across Texas, the largest disclosed number of homes and residences used for facilitating North Korean hacks, which were owned by at least two American facilitators.

CrowdStrike, which helped the FBI investigate and disrupt the latest North Korean operations, said that laptop farms are “vital” to North Korea in helping its hackers overcome physical, financial, and legal challenges of not physically being in the United States.

The prosecutors said at least 70 U.S.-based companies had been infiltrated by the hackers, who are believed to have generated around $3 million in stolen funds. The DOJ did not name the affected companies, but described them as healthcare, cyber support, retail, communications, and manufacturing sectors across Ohio and 16 other states, including the District of Columbia.

“Increasingly, North Korean IT workers are turning to recruiting American facilitators to counter improved private sector detections and law enforcement actions. These workers are hiring facilitators to complete a wider variety of tasks, and in some cases subcontracting entire jobs to third-party foreign nationals,” the Justice Department said.

Oftentimes, North Korean hackers use real-looking email addresses, spoofed LinkedIn profiles, and extensive online and social media accounts as cover for their activities.

In a separate public service announcement, the FBI said that there are “thousands” of North Korean-state controlled IT workers working at Western companies, which “pose a significant national security and intellectual property theft insider threat.”

This is the latest wave of arrests, indictments, and enforcement action targeting North Korean activities in the United States in recent years. The breakaway regime has used this “remote IT workers” scheme to allow North Koreans to gain employment with U.S. and European companies, earn a wage, and then steal sensitive information and intellectual property while as employees. The victim companies are then extorted into paying the hackers further.

The remote IT workers’ scheme is one of several strands of illicit revenue that the North Korean regime aims to generate, including hacking crypto exchanges and open-source developer projects, with the aim of funding its internationally sanctioned nuclear weapons program. The regime is thought to have stolen at least $2 billion in crypto during 2025 alone.

Experts on North Korea have put the number of hacked companies and the amount of stolen crypto as likely much higher than reported.

Earlier this year, CrowdStrike said in a separate report that North Korean hackers were behind around half of all documented “hands-on-keyboard” intrusions over the past year, referring to hacks that are carried out by humans and not automated tools or AI.

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Related Topics:companies Department dozens infiltrated Justice Koreans North U.S

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"You’re a small boy" — Uzodimma jokes with Okorocha at APC rally [VIDEO]

Published

2 hours ago

November 4, 2026

PlateauReports

A moment of exchange between Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma and his predecessor, Rochas Okorocha, during the APC presidential campaign rally has drawn public attention.

In a video circulating online, Okorocha is heard calling out to Uzodimma, asking, “Governor Hope, didn’t you see me?” apparently suggesting that the governor had failed to acknowledge or greet him.

Uzodimma, however, responded, “You’re a small boy,” amid handshakes and laughter.

The exchange, which appeared to be friendly banter and a light-hearted greeting, comes days after the Federal High Court in Abuja nullified Uzodimma’s emergence as the APC candidate for Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 elections and declared Okorocha the winner of the party’s May 18 senatorial primary.

See video

‘Governor Hope, didn’t you see me? — You’re a small boy’

– Moment Governor Hope Uzodimma and former Governor Rochas Okorocha took digs at each other during the APC presidential campaign rally.

Lol 😂 https://t.co/Ph6vUkFNLx

— Emma ik Umeh (Tcee )🇳🇬 (@emmaikumeh) November 4, 2026

“You’re a small boy” — Uzodimma jokes with Okorocha at APC rally [VIDEO]

Business

MTN Nigeria appoints ex-Etisalat boss, four other new directors

Published

3 hours ago

November 4, 2026

PlateauReports

MTN Nigeria Communications Plc has appointed five new directors to its board as part of efforts to strengthen its operations and support the company’s growth and strategic direction.

The appointees include former Etisalat Nigeria executives, Ibrahim Dikko and Boye Olusanya, who were appointed as independent non-executive directors to the board of the telecommunication company.

The telco giant also appointed corporate governance expert Fabian Ajogwu, Imoni Akpofure and Lwazi Bam as non-executive directors.

The appointments, which take effect from 1 December were disclosed in a regulatory filing signed by the company’s secretary, Uto Ukpanah, on Tuesday.

MTN Nigeria said the new directors were expected to bring their experience and expertise to strengthen the telco giant’s operations.

“The new Directors are expected to bring their wealth of experience and expertise to enhance Board operations and contribute to the Company’s growth and future direction,” MTN Nigeria said.

Profiles

Mr Dikko brings more than three decades of experience spanning banking, telecommunications, information and communications technology, and regulatory advisory.

He served as chairman of First Securities Discount House Limited from 2002 to 2012 and was vice president of regulatory and corporate affairs at EMTS Limited, which operated as Etisalat Nigeria, from 2007 to 2017.

He holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Buckingham and a Master of Laws degree from Queen Mary and Westfield College, and University of London.

Mr Dikko is a Fellow of the Society of Corporate Governance Nigeria and a Member of the Institute of Directors, Nigeria.

Boye Olusanya

Mr Olusanya, who currently leads FMN Holdings Limited, has more than 25 years of executive leadership experience across the fast-moving consumer goods, agriculture, telecommunications, technology, energy, infrastructure and financial services sectors.

He has led the strategic transformation of FMN Holdings into a vertically integrated, consumer-focused food and agro-industrial business.

MTN Nigeria said Mr Olusanya’s experience includes enterprise transformation, business restructuring, strategic acquisitions, operational turnaround and regional expansion.

Fabian Ajogwu

Mr Ajogwu is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and professor of corporate governance at Lagos Business School. He is also the senior partner at KENNA LP and has practised law for 35 years.

He assisted the Securities and Exchange Commission in drafting Nigeria’s first Code of Corporate Governance and served on the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria committee that worked on the National Code of Corporate Governance 2018.

Mr Ajogwu is also the founder of the Society for Corporate Governance Nigeria and has authored several books on corporate governance.

He holds a PhD in Law from the University of Aberdeen, an MBA from IESE Business School in Barcelona and law degrees from the University of Nigeria and the University of Lagos.

Imoni Akpofure

Ms Akpofure brings nearly three decades of experience in finance, infrastructure and sustainability, particularly across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Her career includes senior roles at the International Finance Corporation, CDC Group, now known as British International Investment, and KINA Advisory.

She currently serves on the boards of Africa50 and the Development Bank of Nigeria, where she brings experience in infrastructure investment, sustainable growth and corporate governance.

Lwazi Bam

Mr Bam joined MTN Group as group chief risk officer in June. Before joining the telecommunications group, he served as chief executive officer of Deloitte Africa and Deloitte Southern Africa from 2012 to 2022.

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During his nearly three decades at Deloitte, he also served on the firm’s Global Executive Committee and advised organisations on mergers and acquisitions, strategy, governance and risk oversight.

Between 2022 and 2026, he served as a non-executive director on the boards of Standard Bank Group and Valterra Platinum. He currently serves on the boards of Woolworths Holdings Limited and ZEDA Limited.

Mr Bam is a chartered accountant in South Africa and completed the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School.

MTN Nigeria, one of Africa’s largest providers of communications services, connects over 94 million people in communities across the country.

Launched in 2001, the telco operates in 19 markets in Africa and the Middle East, serving over 300 million people.