North Korea
North Korea lures engineers to rent identities in fake IT worker scheme
In an unprecedented intelligence operation, security researchers exposed how North Korean IT recruiters target and lure developers into renting their identities for illicit fundraising. Famous Chollima (also known as WageMole), part of North Korea’s state-sponsored Lazarus group, is known for social-engineering campaigns to infiltrate Western companies for espionage and revenue generation for the regime. They […]
Five plead guilty to helping North Koreans infiltrate US firms
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that five individuals pleaded guilty to aiding North Korea’s illicit revenue generation schemes, including remote IT worker fraud and cryptocurrency theft. As part of this, the U.S. authorities announced actions seeking the forfeiture of $15 million in cryptocurrency from heists carried out by the APT38 threat group, which is […]
APT37 hackers abuse Google Find Hub in Android data-wiping attacks
North Korean hackers are abusing Google’s Find Hub tool to track the GPS location of their targets and remotely reset Android devices to factory settings. The attacks are primarily targeting South Koreans, and start by approaching the potential victims over KakaoTalk messenger – the most popular instant messaging app in the country. South Korean cybersecurity solutions […]
US sanctions North Korean bankers linked to cybercrime, IT worker fraud
The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on two North Korean financial institutions and eight individuals involved in laundering cryptocurrency stolen in cybercrime and fraudulent IT worker schemes. The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Ryujong Credit Bank, a North Korea-based financial institution linked to sanctions-evasion activities between North Korea and China, including money laundering. OFAC […]
North Korean Lazarus hackers targeted European defense companies
North Korean Lazarus hackers compromised three European companies in the defense sector through a coordinated Operation DreamJob campaign leveraging fake recruitment lures. The threat group’s activity was detected in late March and targeted organizations involved in the development of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology. ‘Operation DreamJob’ is a long-running Lazarus campaign where the adversary, posing as […]
North Korean hackers stole over $2 billion in crypto this year
North Korean hackers have stolen an estimated $2 billion worth of cryptocurrency assets in 2025, marking the largest annual total on record. The figure brings the total confirmed amount stolen by these threat actors to more than $6 billion. According to the United Nations and government agencies, these funds are used to further the development […]
US targets North Korean IT worker army with new sanctions
The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned two individuals and two companies associated with North Korean IT worker schemes that operate at the expense of American organizations. These schemes involve placing in U.S. firms skilled tech workers with stolen or fabricated identities and using so-called “laptop farms” to hide the true location of the […]
XenoRAT malware campaign hits multiple embassies in South Korea
A state-sponsored espionage campaign is targeting foreign embassies in South Korea to deploy XenoRAT malware from malicious GitHub repositories. According to Trellix researchers, the campaign has been running since March and is ongoing, having launched at least 19 spearphishing attacks against high-value targets. Although infrastructure and techniques match the pllaybook of North Korean actor Kimsuky (APT43), there are signs that better […]
North Korean Kimsuky hackers exposed in alleged data breach
The North Korean state-sponsored hackers known as Kimsuky has reportedly suffered a data breach after two hackers, who describe themselves as the opposite of Kimsuky’s values, stole the group’s data and leaked it publicly online. The two hackers, named ‘Saber’ and ‘cyb0rg,’ cited ethical reasons for their actions, saying Kimsuky is “hacking for all the wrong reasons,” claiming they’re […]
US sanctions North Korean firm, nationals behind IT worker schemes
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned three North Korean nationals and a company for supporting fraudulent IT worker schemes that generated illicit revenue for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) government. The sanctioned company is named Korea Sobaeksu Trading Company, and the three North Korean individuals […]