I knew about North Korean hackers—they still tricked me and got into my computer

In late March, I received a troubling message from Fortune’s IT administrator. “There is a process that’s exposing a vulnerability,” he wrote, telling me that someone may be prowling around my computer. “I need to kill it.” I panicked. A file I had downloaded at 11:04 a.m. had the capacity to monitor my keyboard strokes, record my computer screen, see my passwords, and access my apps, according to logs later reviewed by Fortune’s IT department.

After shutting down my laptop, I rushed out of my Brooklyn apartment and ran to the nearest subway station. While waiting for the train to Fortune’s office, where I planned to wipe the laptop with IT’s help, I texted my editor: “I think I may have been phished by the DPRK lol.”

I had reported on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and knew the country liked to target American investors. But I would have never thought its notorious hackers would come after me—and teach me a firsthand lesson about the depths of their deceptions. 

‘Scam vibes’

The Hermit Kingdom has been tormenting the crypto industry for years. Cut off from the global financial system by sanctions, the country has resorted to state-sponsored crypto theft to help pay its bills. In 2025 alone, hackers tied to the North Korean army accumulated $2 billi...