North Korean illustrators and graphic designers appear to have helped produce work for US animation studios unbeknownst to those companies, suggesting that unreleased episodes of a few popular American cartoons could include work from one of the most closed-off economies in the world.
It’s unclear how the files ended up in this tightly controlled portion of the internet, but the researchers who analyzed them told CNN they appear to be the result of work that was unknowingly outsourced to North Korean workers.
Roy found a new North Korean website that outside visitors didn’t need a password to access, unlocking a trove of animation sketches, and shared them with the Stimson Center, a Washington-based think tank.
The discovery raises questions about the ability of US tech and creative arts companies to control their supply chains and avoid work that could inadvertently violate sanctions banning countries from doing business with North Korea.
“Seemingly fueled by the desire for unreasonably low-cost labor, foreign media companies continue to subcontract animation work to SEK Studio,” the Treasury Department said in a statement announcing the sanctions.
Battered by sanctions and strapped for cash, the North Korean regime has turned to thousands of IT workers living abroad to bring in hard currency, according to US officials and private experts.
“Treasury remains concerned about North Korean efforts to generate revenue for their weapons programs, including through cybercrime and the abuse of contractors, and urges industry to be vigilant against any attempts to evade sanctions,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
The original article contains 1,576 words, the summary contains 202 words. Saved 87%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
It’s unclear how the files ended up in this tightly controlled portion of the internet, but the researchers who analyzed them told CNN they appear to be the result of work that was unknowingly outsourced to North Korean workers.
Roy found a new North Korean website that outside visitors didn’t need a password to access, unlocking a trove of animation sketches, and shared them with the Stimson Center, a Washington-based think tank.
The discovery raises questions about the ability of US tech and creative arts companies to control their supply chains and avoid work that could inadvertently violate sanctions banning countries from doing business with North Korea.
“Seemingly fueled by the desire for unreasonably low-cost labor, foreign media companies continue to subcontract animation work to SEK Studio,” the Treasury Department said in a statement announcing the sanctions.
Battered by sanctions and strapped for cash, the North Korean regime has turned to thousands of IT workers living abroad to bring in hard currency, according to US officials and private experts.
“Treasury remains concerned about North Korean efforts to generate revenue for their weapons programs, including through cybercrime and the abuse of contractors, and urges industry to be vigilant against any attempts to evade sanctions,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
The original article contains 1,576 words, the summary contains 202 words. Saved 87%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!