nikkas was sending they're work to North Korea without even realizing it
Investigation finds Invincible animation documents in North Korea
Documents found on a North Korean server suggest US studios may have unknowingly outsourced animation work
By Sean Lyngaas, CNN
Updated 11:12 AM EDT, Tue April 23, 2024
03:08 - Source: CNN
Drawing controversy
CNN
—
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.
The revelation comes from a trove of documents recently discovered by US researchers inside a computer server housed in North Korea. 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.
The US has imposed strict sanctions prohibiting American companies from doing business with the nuclear-armed regime.
In addition to drawings for an upcoming season of the Amazon Prime Video show “Invincible,” the files also contain sketches and videos that resemble work for “Iyanu: Child of Wonder,” a superhero series slated to air on Max, the streaming service that, along with CNN, is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.
There is no evidence that the studios had any knowledge their proprietary work was on a North Korean server.
The files were discovered in December by Nick Roy, a Boston-based cyber-sleuth who regularly scans the North Korean internet as a hobby. 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 documents include a series of Chinese instructions that have been translated into Korean. They call for making adjustments to the size and style of the animation. Among the documents, there is also an editing sheet written in English with specifications for animation work with “Invincible” printed atop.
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.
They also offer a rare window into how graphic designers operate in one of the world’s most closed countries. A 2022
public advisory warning from the FBI and departments of State and Treasury mentions animation as one of many sectors where North Korean IT workers ply their trade. US officials are particularly concerned that North Korean workers are posing as other nationalities to get hired at US companies.
Logs from the North Korean computer server showed multiple visits from internet connections in northeast China, the US cybersecurity firm Mandiant told CNN. Both Roy and Michael Barnhart, a North Korea specialist at Mandiant, told CNN that those log files suggest workers in China may have been passing along instructions to their North Korean counterparts on the animation projects.
Other computers from within North Korea also appear to have been connecting to the computer server, Roy said, suggesting there were people accessing the animation files not only in China but also in North Korea.
)
I wouldn't even trust sending work over there when a whole ass dictator is controlling what they see as reality
awfully close
S1 was like a horror mystery, S2 was too somber and sentimental. Even Rex, who was a standout interesting character, was watered down and PTSD. They turned a dope serious aminated show into a teen drama. Major step down.