From Social Engineering to DMARC Abuse: TA427’s Art of Information Gathering

Proofpoint researchers track numerous state-sponsored and state-aligned threat actors. TA427 (also known as Emerald Sleet, APT43, THALLIUM or Kimsuky), a Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) aligned group working in support of the Reconnaissance General Bureau, is Read More …

The Updated APT Playbook: Tales from the Kimsuky threat actor group

Rapit7 team recently ran across some interesting activity that they believe is the work of the Kimsuky threat actor group, also known as Black Banshee or Thallium. Originating from North Korea and active since at least 2012, Kimsuky focuses primarily on Read More …

North Korea Using Social Engineering to Enable Hacking of Think Tanks, Academia, and Media

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Department of State, and the National Security Agency (NSA), together with the Republic of Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS), National Police Agency (NPA), and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), are jointly issuing Read More …

Kimsuky’s GoldDragon cluster and its C2 operations

Kimsuky (also known as Thallium, Black Banshee and Velvet Chollima) is a prolific and active threat actor primarily targeting Korea-related entities. Like other sophisticated adversaries, this group also updates its tools very quickly. In early 2022, Kaspersky researchers observed this Read More …

U.S. doubles reward for tips on North Korean-backed hackers

The U.S. State Department has increased rewards paid to anyone providing information on any North Korean-sponsored threat groups’ members to $10 million. “If you have information on any individuals associated with the North Korean government-linked malicious cyber groups (such as Read More …

North Korean cyberspies target govt officials with custom malware

A state-sponsored North Korean threat actor tracked as TA406 was recently observed deploying custom info-stealing malware in espionage campaigns. The particular actor is attributed as one of several groups known as Kimsuky (aka Thallium). TA406 has left traces of low-volume Read More …

North Korean Kimsuky hacking group allegedly behind breach of South Korean nuclear institute

A North Korean hacking group with a history of high-profile attacks against South Korea allegedly breached the network of South Korea’s state-run nuclear research institute last month. Representative Ha Tae-keung of the People Power Party, South Korea’s main opposition party, Read More …

North Korea-Backed Spy Group Poses as Reporters in Spearphishing Attacks, Feds Warn

The North Korean advanced persistent threat (APT) group known as Kimsuky is actively attacking commercial-sector businesses, often by posing as South Korean reporters, according to an alert from the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Kimsuky (a.k.a. Hidden Cobra) Read More …

Phishing for secrets: Russian cyber experts believe defense industry is being attacked by North Korea

A hacker group from North Korea has been attacking Russian military and industrial organizations by sending fraudulent emails, according to cybersecurity experts, who believe that Pyongyang is beginning to cast its net wider. This may come as a surprise to Read More …