Security biz KnowBe4 hired fake North Korean techie, who got straight to work ... on evil

KnowBe4 inadvertently hired a fake North Korean IT worker who used a stolen U.S. identity and AI-altered imagery; the company-provided Mac began loading malware as soon as it was received, but the security operations center detected and neutralized the device within ~25 minutes with no loss of data. Investigation found evidence of session manipulation and unauthorized file activity and suggested the laptop was part of an "IT mule laptop farm" operated from North Korea/China to hide operator location; the FBI was notified and the company recommended stronger remote-worker vetting and monitoring.