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North Korea’s Secret US Workforce, Canceling the SaaSpocalypse, MSL’s Latest Exits | Diet TBPN

August 14, 2026

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5 min read

North Korea’s Secret US Workforce, Canceling the SaaSpocalypse, MSL’s Latest Exits

The Wall Street Journal spent over a year investigating how North Korea has built a secret workforce inside American companies using stolen identities, AI, and accomplices in the United States to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars back to Kim Jong-un's regime. That investigation, published as a 30-minute documentary titled Infiltrated: North Korea’s Secret US Workforce, reveals an operation that exploded during the remote work boom and now generates nearly $800 million annually for the North Korean government.

The North Korean IT Worker Pipeline

The FBI says thousands of North Korean IT workers are applying for jobs across America. One cell tracked by the Journal applied to more than a thousand companies over just three months, using AI at nearly every step. During technical interviews, workers leave a voice agent running that looks up answers and feeds them to the interviewee in real time. If they get the job, they sometimes use real Americans as frontmen: the American receives a company laptop, collects a paycheck, sends half to the North Koreans, and does no actual work.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (01:00) **Canceling the SaaSpocalypse** - The hosts revisit their February prediction that the "SaaSpocalypse" sell-off was overdone, arguing the thesis was too aggressive.
  • 2 (04:33) **AI Winners and Unslopable SaaS** - The hosts identify cybersecurity and infrastructure companies as clear AI winners that have surged back.
  • 3 (06:45) **New SaaSpocalypse Victims: Canva and Twilio's Rise** - The hosts discuss Canva's risk from AI image models and Twilio's surprising 150% rebound.
  • 4 (08:32) **Yahoo's MSL Exit and New Startup** - The hosts discuss Yahoo's departure from Meta to start a new company alongside Mark Zuckerberg.
  • 5 (12:37) **Instagram's New Wordmark** - Adam Mosseri debuts a refreshed Instagram wordmark after ten years, and the hosts debate its merits.
  • 6 (14:03) **Singer x Louis Vuitton 911 Collaboration** - The hosts react to a controversial Singer x Louis Vuitton collaboration for a Porsche 911 that looks like a handbag.
  • 7 (15:19) **North Korea's Secret US Workforce** - The Wall Street Journal reveals a massive operation where North Korean IT workers use stolen identities, AI, and American accomplices to infiltrate remote jobs.

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Show Notes

Diet TBPN delivers the best of today’s TBPN episode in 30 minutes. TBPN is a live tech talk show hosted by John Coogan and Jordi Hays, streaming weekdays 11–2 PT on X and YouTube, with each episode posted to podcast platforms right after.


Described by The New York Times as “Silicon Valley’s newest obsession,” the show has recently featured Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman, Mark Cuban, and Satya Nadella.


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