The nation allegedly used front firms in China to evade US sanctions.
There is a possibility that animators from North Korea contributed to the production of popular cartoons for streaming services such as Amazon Prime Video, Max, and others. A cloud server that was misconfigured and located on a North Korean IP address was supposedly discovered by researchers from the 38 North project, which is based in Washington. The cloud server was said to hold thousands of animation files, as reported by Wired. Because of North Korea’s violations of human rights and its progress in developing its nuclear weapons program, the United States has imposed restrictions that ban commercial involvement with North Korean entities.
Not only did the server incorporate the necessary modifications, but it also supplied animation cells, movies, and notes detailing the effort. Some of the images look to be from the iconic superhero show Invincible, which is available on Prime Video, while others appear to be from a new children’s anime set to air on Max called Iyanu: Child of Wonder. The data, which was reviewed in part by the security firm Mandiant, which is owned by Google, offers an insight into the possible tactics that North Korea employs in order to circumvent sanctions.
Through the process of analyzing incoming connections to the server, the researchers were able to identify access from three different places in China, which is indicative of the presence of some kind of front company. The research adds that all three towns are known to have a large number of enterprises that are owned by North Koreans and are major centers for North Koreans who work in information technology and live outside of the country.
According to Michael Barnhart, who works at Mandiant, there was no evidence in the research to suggest that Max, Amazon, or any of their subsidiaries were aware that the job was being handled by animators from North Korea. According to the analysis by Reuters, it was most likely subcontracted despite their lack of knowledge. According to Barnhart, he has “high confidence” that the contracts were with Chinese companies who outsourced their work to animators who work for North Korea.
In the year 2022, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the United States Treasury Department (USTR) issued a warning to firms about the potential dangers of unintentionally employing North Korean technology workers through outsourcing. The United States Treasury Department has not commented on this particular accusation, according to a representative for the department who talked to Reuters. However, the spokesperson did highlight that North Korea’s efforts to raise income for its weapons programs through abuses of the subcontracting system is a continuing issue.
To our fans: Skybound has been made aware of an unconfirmed report concerning a cloud storage server connected to a North Korean IP address. This server supposedly contains an Invincible animation sketch. Our official statement follows.
— Skybound Entertainment (@Skybound) April 21, 2024
We do not work with North Korean…
Those who have questions have been directed to Skybound, the business that is responsible for Invincible. The company claims that it is unaware of any North Korean companies working on its animation projects, but it has begun an internal examination in order to check and address any issues that have not been resolved. According to Hannah Cosgrove, who is in charge of corporate relations for Skybound, “We have also notified the appropriate authorities and are cooperating with all appropriate bodies.” Requests for feedback from Max have not been met with a response.