Democratic People's Republic of Korea

 

    North Korea has been continuously expanding it's military capabilities as well as increasing their public appearance positively and stronger as a nation. By doing so, their goal is to make themselves appear to be a potential threat and to be a secure nation like the Unite States. This has been captured by the NSA as they have continuously tracked the propaganda and malware to influence other countries peoples, socially engineering them to achieve their goals. This expansion of their propaganda has caused the NSA, working with multiple other agencies, to put out a notice or warning to the people of their actions. 


    On June 1st, 2023 the NSA published a Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) warning people of the possibility that North Korea maybe attempting to hack think tanks, academics, and news outlets. To accomplish this, they pose as individuals that are looking to participate with them  and influence their actions as well as collects information about the actions that they are conducting. The primary office that is infiltrating these groups is Kimsuky. They fall underneath the Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB) of North Korea's intelligence agency. (NSA, 2023)

    According to the article published by the NSA, Kimsuky under the direction of the RGB is responsible for these cyberattacks and actors posing as academics, journalist and individuals with credentials. These actors will then gain access to important documents, personal information, and organizational information about their targets to further their intelligence mission. These actions have been identified by Hidden Cobra by the Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency (CISA) of the Untied States government. (CISA, 2020)

    As published by the NSA article, the CISA confirms that their actions include social engineering by spearphishing, and watering hole tactics. These are potentially dangerous as they can give the impression of being credible, only to be a North Korean agent attempting to gather your information. Their actions have been primarily seen in South Korea, Japan, and the United States. (CISA, 2020)


References:

CISA. (2023, October 16). North Korean Advanced Persistent Threat Focus: Kimsuky: CISA. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA. https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/cybersecurity-advisories/aa20-301a

NSA. (2023, June 1). U.S., ROK Agencies Alert: DPRK cyber actors impersonating targets to collect intelligence. National Security Agency/Central Security Service. https://www.nsa.gov/Press-Room/Press-Releases-Statements/Press-Release-View/Article/3413621/us-rok-agencies-alert-dprk-cyber-actors-impersonating-targets-to-collect-intell/

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