Moonstone Sleet emerges as new North Korean threat actor with new bag of tricks


Microsoft has identified a new North Korean threat actor, now tracked as Moonstone Sleet (formerly Storm-1789), that uses both a combination of many tried-and-true techniques used by other North Korean threat actors and unique attack methodologies to target companies for its financial and cyberespionage objectives.

Moonstone Sleet is observed to set up fake companies and job opportunities to engage with potential targets, employ trojanized versions of legitimate tools, create a malicious game, and deliver a new custom ransomware. While Moonstone Sleet initially had overlaps with Diamond Sleet, the threat actor has since shifted to its own infrastructure and attacks, establishing itself as a distinct, well-resourced North Korean threat actor.

Read more…
Source: Microsoft


Sign up for our Newsletter


Related:

  • Kaspersky uncovers APT campaign targeting APAC government entities

    October 17, 2023

    Kaspersky researchers have discovered a persistent campaign compromising a specific type of secure USB drive used to provide encryption for safe data storage. Dubbed “TetrisPhantom,” this espionage effort targets government entities in the Asia-Pacific region (APAC), and shows no discernible overlap with any known threat actor. These and other findings are detailed in Kaspersky’s new ...

  • ToddyCat: Keep calm and check logs

    October 12, 2023

    ToddyCat is an advanced APT actor that Kaspersky researchers described in a previous publication last year. The group started its activities in December 2020 and has been responsible for multiple sets of attacks against high-profile entities in Europe and Asia. Kaspersky first publication was focused on their main tools, Ninja Trojan and Samurai Backdoor, and ...

  • Stayin’ Alive – targeted attacks against telecoms and government ministries in Asia

    October 11, 2023

    In the last few months, Check Point Research has been tracking “Stayin’ Alive”, an ongoing campaign that has been active since at least 2021. The campaign operates in Asia, primarily targeting the Telecom industry, as well as government organizations. The “Stayin’ Alive” campaign consists of mostly downloaders and loaders, some of which are used as ...

  • Assessed Cyber Structure and Alignments of North Korea in 2023

    October 10, 2023

    Historically Mandiant has made assessments on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) cyber program based on Mandiant responses to intrusions, defector accounts, and OSINT reporting, in conjunction with government disclosures of DPRK units and motivation information. These assessments were generalizations and as new activity, such as cryptocurrency-focused units, emerged it blended the efforts from DPRK ...

  • Grayling: Previously unseen threat actor targets multiple organizations in Taiwan

    October 10, 2023

    A previously unknown advanced persistent threat (APT) group used custom malware and multiple publicly available tools to target a number of organizations in the manufacturing, IT, and biomedical sectors in Taiwan. A government agency located in the Pacific Islands, as well as organizations in Vietnam and the U.S., also appear to have been hit as ...

  • Hacktivist attacks erupt in Middle East following Hamas assault on Israel

    October 9, 2023

    Groups range from known collectives to new outfits eager to raise their profile Hacktivism efforts have proliferated rapidly in the Middle East following the official announcement of a war between Palestine and Israel.… The escalation was spurred by a deadly attack on a music festival by Hamas, along with abductions and killings across scores of Israeli ...