(CNN) — North Korean operatives created a fake job-application platform targeting applicants to major US artificial intelligence and crypto firms as part of a new effort to steal money and know-how for the Kim Jong Un regime, researchers said on Thursday.

It’s a twist on a yearslong campaign to infiltrate Fortune 500 companies: Instead of simply impersonating employees of those companies, North Korean tech workers are now working to gain long-term access to the computers of applicants before they join a company, according to security firm Validin, which discovered the scheme.

“Going after job seekers gives North Korean actors a huge advantage. Instead of trying to slip past an employer’s defenses, they take over the entire hiring process and make it feel completely legitimate to ind

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