Lazarus Group, Hidden Cobra, Labyrinth Chollima

Description

(Malwarebytes) Lazarus Group is commonly believed to be run by the North Korean government, motivated primarily by financial gain as a method of circumventing long-standing sanctions against the regime. They first came to substantial media notice in 2013 with a series of coordinated attacks against an assortment of South Korean broadcasters and financial institutions using DarkSeoul, a wiper program that overwrites sections of the victims’ master boot record.

In November 2014, a large scale breach of Sony Pictures was attributed to Lazarus. The attack was notable due to its substantial penetration across Sony networks, the extensive amount of data exfiltrated and leaked, as well of use of a wiper in a possible attempt to erase forensic evidence. Attribution on the attacks was largely hazy, but the FBI released a statement tying the Sony breach to the earlier DarkSeoul attack, and officially attributed both incidents to North Korea.

Fast forward to May 2017 with the widespread outbreak of WannaCry, a piece of ransomware that used an SMB exploit as an attack vector. Attribution to North Korea rested largely on code reuse between WannaCry and previous North Korean attacks, but this was considered to be thin grounds given the common practice of tool sharing between regional threat groups. Western intelligence agencies released official statements to the public reaffirming the attribution, and on September 6, 2018, the US Department of Justice charged a North Korean national with involvement in both WannaCry and the Sony breach.

Lazarus Group has 3 subgroups:

The following groups may be associated with the Lazarus Group: Covellite, Reaper, APT 37, Ricochet Chollima, ScarCruft, Wassonite and Moonstone Sleet.

Names

Name	Name-Giver
Lazarus Group	Kaspersky
Labyrinth Chollima	CrowdStrike
Group 77	Talos
Hastati Group	SecureWorks
Whois Hacking Team	McAfee
NewRomanic Cyber Army Team	McAfee
Zinc	Microsoft
Hidden Cobra	Trend Micro
Appleworm	Symantec
APT-C-26	Qihoo 360
ATK 3	Thales
SectorA01	ThreatRecon
ITG03	IBM
TA404	Proofpoint
DEV-0139	Microsoft
Guardians of Peace	self given
Gods Apostles	self given
Gods Disciples	self given
UNC577	Mandiant
UNC2970	Mandiant
UNC4034	Mandiant
UNC4736	Mandiant
UNC4899	Mandiant
Diamond Sleet	Microsoft
Citrine Sleet	Microsoft
Jade Sleet	Microsoft
TraderTraitor	CISA
Gleaming Pisces	Palo Alto
Slow Pisces	Palo Alto

Country

North Korea

State-sponsored, Bureau/Unit 211

Motivation

Information theft and espionage
Sabotage and destruction
Financial crime

First Seen

2007

Observed Sectors

Observed Countries

Tools

Operations

2007: Operation “Flame” Target: South Korean government. Method: Disruption and sabotage.
2009-07: Operation “Troy” North Korean hackers are suspected of launching a cyber-attack on some of the most important government offices in the US and South Korea in recent days, including the White House, the Pentagon, the New York Stock Exchange and the presidential Blue House in Seoul. The attack took out some of South Korea’s most important websites, including those of the Blue House, the defense ministry, the national assembly, Shinhan bank, Korea Exchange bank and the top internet portal Naver. Target: Government, financial and media institutions in South Korea and USA. Method: DdoS attacks. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jul/08/south-korea-cyber-attack
2011-03: Attack on South Korean banks and media Recent Distributed Denial of Service (DdoS) attacks on a number South Korean websites have been in news for the past week. The threat responsible for carrying out these attacks is Trojan.Koredos. Target: South Korean organizations. Method: DdoS attacks and destruction of infected machines. https://www.symantec.com/connect/blogs/trojankoredos-comes-unwelcomed-surprise
2013-03: Operation “Ten Days of Rain” / ”DarkSeoul” Computer networks running three major South Korean banks and the country’s two largest broadcasters were paralyzed Wednesday in attacks that some experts suspected originated in North Korea, which has consistently threatened to cripple its far richer neighbor. The attacks, which left many South Koreans unable to withdraw money from A.T.M.’s and news broadcasting crews staring at blank computer screens, came as the North’s official Korean Central News Agency quoted the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, as threatening to destroy government installations in the South, along with American bases in the Pacific. Target: Three broadcasting stations and a bank in South Korea. Method: Infecting with viruses, stealing and wiping information. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/21/world/asia/south-korea-computer-network-crashes.html
2013-05: South Korean Financial Companies Targeted by Castov In the past few months we have been actively monitoring an exploit kit, called Gongda, which is mainly targeting South Korea. Interestingly, we have come across a piece of malware, known as Castov, being delivered by this exploit kit that targets specific South Korean financial companies and their customers. The cybercriminals in this case have done their research on the South Korean online financial landscape. https://www.symantec.com/connect/blogs/south-korean-financial-companies-targeted-castov
2013-06: DarkSeoul Cyberattacks Against South Korea Continue on Anniversary of Korean War Yesterday, June 25, the Korean peninsula observed a series of cyberattacks coinciding with the 63rd anniversary of the start of the Korean War. While multiple attacks were conducted by multiple perpetrators, one of the distributed denial-of-service (DdoS) attacks observed yesterday against South Korean government websites can be directly linked to the DarkSeoul gang and Trojan.Castov. https://www.symantec.com/connect/blogs/four-years-darkseoul-cyberattacks-against-south-korea-continue-anniversary-korean-war
2014-11: Operation “Blockbuster”: Breach of Sony Pictures Entertainment The attack on Sony Pictures became public knowledge on November 24, 2014, when Sony employees turned on their computers to be greeted with the sight of a neon red skeleton and the words “Hacked by GOP”, which stood for “Guardians of the Peace”. The message also threatened to release data later that day if an unspecified request was not met. Over the following weeks, huge swathes of information stolen from Sony were released, including: personal information about employees and their families; email correspondence between employees at the company; information about company salaries, unreleased Sony films, and other information. Target: Sony Pictures Entertainment (released the “Interview” movie, ridiculing the North Korean leader). Method: Infecting with malware, stealing and wiping data of the company’s employees, correspondence, copies of unreleased films. https://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/us/security/news/cyber-attacks/the-hack-of-sony-pictures-what-you-need-to-know https://www.operationblockbuster.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Operation-Blockbuster-Report.pdf
2015-06: Using the Palo Alto Networks AutoFocus threat intelligence platform, we identified several samples of malicious code with behavior similar to the aforementioned Operation Troy campaign dating back to June 2015, over two years after the original attacks in South Korea. Session data revealed a live attack targeting the transportation and logistics sector in Europe. https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/tdrop2-attacks-suggest-dark-seoul-attackers-return/
2017-03: The Blockbuster Sequel This recently identified activity is targeting Korean speaking individuals, while the threat actors behind the attack likely speak both Korean and English. This blog will detail the recently discovered samples, their functionality, and their ties to the threat group behind Operation Blockbuster. https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/unit42-the-blockbuster-sequel/
2017-05: WannaCry ransomware ThaiCERT’s whitepaper: https://www.dropbox.com/s/hpr9fas9xbzo2uz/Whitepaper WannaCry Ransomware.pdf?dl=0
2017-06: We analyzed a new RATANKBA variant (BKDR_RATANKBA.ZAEL–A), discovered in June 2017, that uses a PowerShell script instead of its more traditional PE executable form—a version that other researchers also recently identified. https://blog.trendmicro.com/trendlabs-security-intelligence/lazarus-campaign-targeting-cryptocurrencies-reveals-remote-controller-tool-evolved-ratankba/
2017-08: The Blockbuster Saga Continues Unit 42 researchers at Palo Alto Networks have discovered new attack activity targeting individuals involved with United States defense contractors. https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/unit42-blockbuster-saga-continues/
2017 Late: Several financial sector and a casino breaches using KillDisk wiping malware in Latin America and USA. https://blog.trendmicro.com/trendlabs-security-intelligence/new-killdisk-variant-hits-financial-organizations-in-latin-america/ https://www.welivesecurity.com/2018/04/03/lazarus-killdisk-central-american-casino/
2017/2018: Cryptocurrency attacks on South Korean exchanges. https://www.proofpoint.com/sites/default/files/pfpt-us-wp-north-korea-bitten-by-bitcoin-bug.pdf https://securingtomorrow.mcafee.com/other-blogs/mcafee-labs/lazarus-resurfaces-targets-global-banks-bitcoin-users/
2018-01: F-Secure’s investigation revealed that a system administrator from the target organization received a phishing document via their personal LinkedIn account. The document masqueraded as a legitimate job advert for a role in a blockchain technology company that matched the employee’s skills. https://labs.f-secure.com/assets/BlogFiles/f-secureLABS-tlp-white-lazarus-threat-intel-report2.pdf
2018-03: APT attack on Turkish Financial Sector. Target: Turkish Financial Sector. Method: Spear-phishing with Bankshot implant. https://securingtomorrow.mcafee.com/other-blogs/mcafee-labs/hidden-cobra-targets-turkish-financial-sector-new-bankshot-implant/
2018-04: Operation “GhostSecret” Target: The impacted organizations are in industries such as telecommunications, health, finance, critical infrastructure, and entertainment. Method: Spear-phishing with Destover-like implant. https://securingtomorrow.mcafee.com/other-blogs/mcafee-labs/analyzing-operation-ghostsecret-attack-seeks-to-steal-data-worldwide/
2018-04: The first artefacts we found relating to MATA were used around April 2018. After that, the actor behind this advanced malware framework used it aggressively to infiltrate corporate entities around the world. https://securelist.com/mata-multi-platform-targeted-malware-framework/97746/
2018-08: Operation “AppleJeus” Target: Cryptocurrency exchange. Method: Fake installer and macOS malware. https://securelist.com/operation-applejeus/87553/
2018-07: Operation “CryptoCore” Operation “Dangerous Password” Operation “Leery Turtle” https://www.clearskysec.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/CryptoCore_Group.pdf https://www.clearskysec.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/CryptoCore-Lazarus-Clearsky.pdf
2018 Summer: Our investigation into the Dtrack RAT actually began with a different activity. In the late summer of 2018, we discovered ATMDtrack, a piece of banking malware targeting Indian banks. Further analysis showed that the malware was designed to be planted on the victim’s ATMs, where it could read and store the data of cards that were inserted into the machines. https://securelist.com/my-name-is-dtrack/93338/
2018-10: Operation “Sharpshooter” Target: 87 organizations in many different sectors (majority Government and Defense) across the globe, predominantly in the United States. Method: Rising Sun implant to gather intelligence. https://securingtomorrow.mcafee.com/other-blogs/mcafee-labs/operation-sharpshooter-targets-global-defense-critical-infrastructure/
2018-11: More Attacks on Cryptocurrency Businesses Target: Some of the documents (for instance one entitled “sample document for business plan evaluation of venture company”) were prepared in Korean, presumably to target South Korean businesses. Another contains a business overview of what seems to be a Chinese technology consulting group named LAFIZ (“we couldn’t confirm if it’s a legitimate business or another fake company made up by Lazarus,” Kaspersky Lab researchers said). Yet another provided information for coin listings with a translation in Korean, researchers said. Method: Documents containing weaponized macros, “carefully prepared to attract the attention of cryptocurrency professionals.” It utilizes PowerShell to control Windows systems and macOS malware for Apple users. https://securelist.com/cryptocurrency-businesses-still-being-targeted-by-lazarus/90019/
2019-03: The infamous Lazarus threat actor group has been found targeting an Israeli defense company, according to new research outlined by a cybersecurity firm ClearSky. The campaign is carried out with an intention to steal military and commercial secrets. https://cyware.com/news/lazarus-hacking-group-expand-their-attack-horizon-by-targeting-an-israeli-defense-company-02e2ec77
2019-03: Operation “AppleJeus sequel” As a result of our ongoing efforts, we identified significant changes to the group’s attack methodology. https://securelist.com/operation-applejeus-sequel/95596/
2019-04: “Hoplight” Malware Campaign Known as “Hoplight,” the malware is a collection of nine files, though most of those are designed to work as obfuscation layers to keep admins and security software from spotting the attack. https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/04/10/lazarus_group_malware/
2019-05: North Korean Tunneling Tool: ELECTRICFISH This report provides analysis of one malicious 32-bit Windows executable file. The malware implements a custom protocol that allows traffic to be funneled between a source and a destination Internet Protocol (IP) address. The malware continuously attempts to reach out to the source and the designation system, which allows either side to initiate a funneling session. The malware can be configured with a proxy server/port and proxy username and password. This feature allows connectivity to a system sitting inside of a proxy server, which allows the actor to bypass the compromised system’s required authentication to reach outside of the network. https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/analysis-reports/AR19-129A
2019-05: Hackers associated with the APT Lazarus/HIDDEN COBRA group were found to be breaking into online stores of large US retailers and planting payment skimmers as early as May 2019. https://sansec.io/research/north-korea-magecart
2019-09: Operation “In(ter)caption” Operation “In(ter)caption” At the end of last year, we discovered targeted attacks against aerospace and military companies in Europe and the Middle East, active from September to December 2019. A collaborative investigation with two of the affected European companies allowed us to gain insight into the operation and uncover previously undocumented malware. https://www.welivesecurity.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/ESET_Operation_Interception.pdf
2019-09: Lazarus Group’s MATA Framework Leveraged to Deploy TFlower Ransomware https://www.sygnia.co/mata-framework
2019-10: Dacls, the Dual platform RAT https://blog.netlab.360.com/dacls-the-dual-platform-rat-en/
2019-12: The Deadly Planeswalker: How The TrickBot Group United High-Tech Crimeware & APT https://labs.sentinelone.com/the-deadly-planeswalker-how-the-trickbot-group-united-high-tech-crimeware-apt/
2020: Operation “North Star” In this 2020 campaign McAfee ATR discovered a series of malicious documents containing job postings taken from leading defense contractors to be used as lures, in a very targeted fashion. https://www.mcafee.com/blogs/other-blogs/mcafee-labs/operation-north-star-a-job-offer-thats-too-good-to-be-true/ https://www.mcafee.com/blogs/other-blogs/mcafee-labs/operation-north-star-summary-of-our-latest-analysis/ https://www.mcafee.com/blogs/other-blogs/mcafee-labs/operation-north-star-behind-the-scenes/
2020: Operation “Dream Job” Upon infection, the attackers collected intelligence regarding the company’s activity, and also its financial affairs, probably in order to try and steal some money from it. https://www.clearskysec.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Dream-Job-Campaign.pdf
2020-02: Lazarus BTC Changer https://www.group-ib.com/blog/btc_changer
2020-03: Lazarus on the hunt for big game https://securelist.com/lazarus-on-the-hunt-for-big-game/97757/
2020-04: New Mac variant of Lazarus Dacls RAT distributed via Trojanized 2FA app https://blog.malwarebytes.com/threat-analysis/2020/05/new-mac-variant-of-lazarus-dacls-rat-distributed-via-trojanized-2fa-app/
2020-04: We discovered another malware cluster named CookieTime used in a campaign mainly focused on the defense industry. https://securelist.com/apt-trends-report-q1-2021/101967/
2020-06: Covid-19 Relief: North Korea Hackers Lazarus Planning Massive Attack on US, UK, Japan, Singapore, India, South Korea? https://www.ibtimes.sg/covid-19-relief-north-korea-hackers-lazarus-planning-massive-attack-us-uk-japan-singapore-47072
2020-06: ESET researchers have discovered a previously undocumented Lazarus backdoor, which they have dubbed Vyveva, being used to attack a freight logistics company in South Africa. https://www.welivesecurity.com/2021/04/08/are-you-afreight-dark-watch-out-vyveva-new-lazarus-backdoor/
2020 Mid: Lazarus targets defense industry with ThreatNeedle https://ics-cert.kaspersky.com/media/Kaspersky-ICS-CERT-Lazarus-targets-defense-industry-with-Threatneedle-En.pdf
2020-08: North Korean hackers are targeting Israel’s defense sector, Israel Ministry of Defense claims https://www.cyberscoop.com/north-korea-hackers-lazarus-group-israel-defense/
2020-11: ESET researchers uncover a novel Lazarus supply-chain attack leveraging WIZVERA VeraPort software https://www.welivesecurity.com/2020/11/16/lazarus-supply-chain-attack-south-korea/
2020-12: As the COVID-19 crisis grinds on, some threat actors are trying to speed up vaccine development by any means available. We have found evidence that actors, such as the Lazarus group, are going after intelligence that could help these efforts by attacking entities related to COVID-19 research. https://securelist.com/lazarus-covets-covid-19-related-intelligence/99906/
2021-01: New campaign targeting security researchers https://blog.google/threat-analysis-group/new-campaign-targeting-security-researchers/ https://www.zdnet.com/article/google-north-korean-hackers-have-targeted-security-researchers-via-social-media/ https://www.microsoft.com/security/blog/2021/01/28/zinc-attacks-against-security-researchers/
2021-03: Lazarus Attack Activities Targeting Japan (VSingle/ValeforBeta) https://blogs.jpcert.or.jp/en/2021/03/Lazarus_malware3.html
2021-03: Update on campaign targeting security researchers https://blog.google/threat-analysis-group/update-campaign-targeting-security-researchers/
2021 Spring: Lazarus campaign TTPs and evolution https://cybersecurity.att.com/blogs/labs-research/lazarus-campaign-ttps-and-evolution
2021 Autumn: Amazon‑themed campaigns of Lazarus in the Netherlands and Belgium https://www.welivesecurity.com/2022/09/30/amazon-themed-campaigns-lazarus-netherlands-belgium/
2021-06: APT actor Lazarus attacks defense industry, develops supply chain attack capabilities https://usa.kaspersky.com/about/press-releases/2021_apt-actor-lazarus-attacks-defense-industry-develops-supply-chain-attack-capabilities
2021-11: Lazarus hackers target researchers with trojanized IDA Pro https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/lazarus-hackers-target-researchers-with-trojanized-ida-pro/
2021-12: Lazarus Trojanized DeFi app for delivering malware https://securelist.com/lazarus-trojanized-defi-app/106195/
2022: Analysis Report on Lazarus Threat Group’s Volgmer and Scout Malware https://asec.ahnlab.com/en/57685/
2022-01: North Korea’s Lazarus APT leverages Windows Update client, GitHub in latest campaign https://blog.malwarebytes.com/threat-intelligence/2022/01/north-koreas-lazarus-apt-leverages-windows-update-client-github-in-latest-campaign/
2022-01: Lazarus Targets Chemical Sector https://symantec-enterprise-blogs.security.com/blogs/threat-intelligence/lazarus-dream-job-chemical
2022-02: Operation “LolZarus” Qualys Threat Research has identified a new Lazarus campaign using employment phishing lures targeting the defence sector. https://blog.qualys.com/vulnerabilities-threat-research/2022/02/08/lolzarus-lazarus-group-incorporating-lolbins-into-campaigns
2022-02: On February 10, Threat Analysis Group discovered two distinct North Korean government-backed attacker groups exploiting a remote code execution vulnerability in Chrome, CVE-2022-0609. https://blog.google/threat-analysis-group/countering-threats-north-korea/
2022 Early: Tracing State-Aligned Activity Targeting Journalists, Media https://www.proofpoint.com/us/blog/threat-insight/above-fold-and-your-inbox-tracing-state-aligned-activity-targeting-journalists
2022-02: Lazarus and the tale of three RATs https://blog.talosintelligence.com/2022/09/lazarus-three-rats.html
2022-02: MagicRAT: Lazarus’ latest gateway into victim networks https://blog.talosintelligence.com/2022/09/lazarus-magicrat.html
2022-03: A hacker stole $625 million from the blockchain behind NFT game Axie Infinity https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/29/23001620/sky-mavis-axie-infinity-ronin-blockchain-validation-defi-hack-nft https://www.cisa.gov/uscert/ncas/alerts/aa22-108a
2022-04: Lazarus Group Exploiting Log4Shell Vulnerability (NukeSped) https://asec.ahnlab.com/en/34461/
2022-05: Lazarus Group Exploits Zero-Day Vulnerability to Hack South Korean Financial Entity https://thehackernews.com/2023/03/lazarus-group-exploits-zero-day.html
2022-06: North Korea accused of orchestrating $100 million Harmony crypto hack https://therecord.media/north-korea-accused-of-orchestrating-100-million-harmony-crypto-hack/
2022-06: Stealing the LIGHTSHOW https://www.mandiant.com/resources/blog/lightshow-north-korea-unc2970 https://www.mandiant.com/resources/blog/lightshift-and-lightshow
2022-06: ZINC weaponizing open-source software https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2022/09/29/zinc-weaponizing-open-source-software/
2022-06: ₿uyer ₿eware: Fake Cryptocurrency Applications Serving as Front for AppleJeus Malware https://www.volexity.com/blog/2022/12/01/buyer-beware-fake-cryptocurrency-applications-serving-as-front-for-applejeus-malware/ https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2022/12/06/dev-0139-launches-targeted-attacks-against-the-cryptocurrency-industry/
2022-07: Lazarus and the tale of three RATs https://blog.talosintelligence.com/lazarus-three-rats/
2022-08: deBridge Finance crypto platform targeted by Lazarus hackers https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/debridge-finance-crypto-platform-targeted-by-lazarus-hackers/
2022-08: Lazarus ‘Operation In(ter)ception’ Targets macOS Users Dreaming of Jobs in Crypto https://www.sentinelone.com/blog/lazarus-operation-interception-targets-macos-users-dreaming-of-jobs-in-crypto/
2022-08: Operation “No Pineapple!” North Korean hackers stole research data in two-month-long breach https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/north-korean-hackers-stole-research-data-in-two-month-long-breach/
2022-09: SlowMist: Investigation of North Korean APT’s Large-Scale Phishing Attack on NFT Users https://slowmist.medium.com/slowmist-our-in-depth-investigation-of-north-korean-apts-large-scale-phishing-attack-on-nft-users-362117600519
2022-09: Lazarus and the FudModule Rootkit: Beyond BYOVD with an Admin-to-Kernel Zero-Day https://decoded.avast.io/janvojtesek/lazarus-and-the-fudmodule-rootkit-beyond-byovd-with-an-admin-to-kernel-zero-day/
2022 Late: DPRK Using Unpatched Zimbra Devices to Spy on Researchers https://www.darkreading.com/remote-workforce/dprk-using-unpatched-zimbra-devices-to-spy-on-researchers-
2022 Late: 3CX Software Supply Chain Compromise Initiated by a Prior Software Supply Chain Compromise; Suspected North Korean Actor Responsible https://www.mandiant.com/resources/blog/3cx-software-supply-chain-compromise https://symantec-enterprise-blogs.security.com/blogs/threat-intelligence/xtrader-3cx-supply-chain
2022 Late: North Korean hackers linked to defense sector supply-chain attack https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/north-korean-hackers-linked-to-defense-sector-supply-chain-attack/
2022-11: DPRK hacking groups breach South Korean defense contractors https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/dprk-hacking-groups-breach-south-korean-defense-contractors/
2023 Early: Lazarus Group’s infrastructure reuse leads to discovery of new malware https://blog.talosintelligence.com/lazarus-collectionrat/
2023 Early: Lazarus Group exploits ManageEngine vulnerability to deploy QuiteRAT https://blog.talosintelligence.com/lazarus-quiterat/
2023-03: More evidence links 3CX supply-chain attack to North Korean hacking group https://therecord.media/3cx-attack-north-korea-lazarus-group https://securelist.com/gopuram-backdoor-deployed-through-3cx-supply-chain-attack/109344/ https://www.3cx.com/blog/news/mandiant-initial-results/
2023-03: Linux malware strengthens links between Lazarus and the 3CX supply‑chain attack https://www.welivesecurity.com/2023/04/20/linux-malware-strengthens-links-lazarus-3cx-supply-chain-attack/
2023-03: Lazarus luring employees with trojanized coding challenges: The case of a Spanish aerospace company https://www.welivesecurity.com/en/eset-research/lazarus-luring-employees-trojanized-coding-challenges-case-spanish-aerospace-company/
2023-05: Lazarus Group Targeting Windows IIS Web Servers https://asec.ahnlab.com/en/53132/
2023-06: North Korea’s Lazarus Group Likely Responsible For $35 Million Atomic Crypto Theft https://hub.elliptic.co/analysis/north-korea-s-lazarus-group-likely-responsible-for-35-million-atomic-crypto-theft/
2023-06: Lazarus Threat Group Exploiting Vulnerability of Korean Finance Security Solution https://asec.ahnlab.com/en/54195/
2023-07: North Korea Leverages SaaS Provider in a Targeted Supply Chain Attack https://www.mandiant.com/resources/blog/north-korea-supply-chain
2023-07: Security alert: social engineering campaign targets technology industry employees https://github.blog/2023-07-18-security-alert-social-engineering-campaign-targets-technology-industry-employees/
2023-07: Lazarus Threat Group Attacking Windows Servers to Use as Malware Distribution Points https://asec.ahnlab.com/en/55369/
2023-07: CoinsPaid blames Lazarus hackers for theft of $37,300,000 in crypto https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/coinspaid-blames-lazarus-hackers-for-theft-of-37-300-000-in-crypto/
2023-07: Lazarus hackers linked to $60 million Alphapo cryptocurrency heist https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/lazarus-hackers-linked-to-60-million-alphapo-cryptocurrency-heist/
2023-07: A cascade of compromise: unveiling Lazarus’ new campaign https://securelist.com/unveiling-lazarus-new-campaign/110888/
2023-08: VMConnect: Malicious PyPI packages imitate popular open source modules https://www.reversinglabs.com/blog/vmconnect-malicious-pypi-packages-imitate-popular-open-source-modules https://www.reversinglabs.com/blog/vmconnect-supply-chain-campaign-continues
2023-09: FBI Identifies Lazarus Group Cyber Actors as Responsible for Theft of $41 Million from Stake.com https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/fbi-identifies-lazarus-group-cyber-actors-as-responsible-for-theft-of-41-million-from-stakecom
2023-09: CoinEx confirms hack after $31 million in cryptocurrency allegedly stolen from exchange https://therecord.media/coinex-confirms-hack-after-31-million-allegedly-stolen https://therecord.media/coinex-cryptocurrency-heist-north-korea
2023-10: Multiple North Korean threat actors exploiting the TeamCity CVE-2023-42793 vulnerability https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2023/10/18/multiple-north-korean-threat-actors-exploiting-the-teamcity-cve-2023-42793-vulnerability/
2023-10: Operation “Dream Magic” https://asec.ahnlab.com/en/57736/
2023-10: Elastic catches DPRK passing out KANDYKORN https://www.elastic.co/security-labs/elastic-catches-dprk-passing-out-kandykorn https://www.sentinelone.com/blog/dprk-crypto-theft-macos-rustbucket-droppers-pivot-to-deliver-kandykorn-payloads/
2023-10: Diamond Sleet supply chain compromise distributes a modified CyberLink installer https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2023/11/22/diamond-sleet-supply-chain-compromise-distributes-a-modified-cyberlink-installer/
2024-01: Lazarus Group Uses the DLL Side-Loading Technique https://asec.ahnlab.com/en/60792/
2024-02: New Malicious PyPI Packages used by Lazarus https://blogs.jpcert.or.jp/en/2024/02/lazarus_pypi.html
2024-02: Slow Pisces Targets Developers With Coding Challenges and Introduces New Customized Python Malware https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/slow-pisces-new-custom-malware/
2024-05: The Crypto Game of Lazarus APT: Investors vs. Zero-days https://securelist.com/lazarus-apt-steals-crypto-with-a-tank-game/114282/
2024-05: FBI links North Korean hackers to $308 million crypto heist https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/fbi-links-north-korean-hackers-to-308-million-crypto-heist/
2024-06: Fake recruiter coding tests target devs with malicious Python packages https://www.reversinglabs.com/blog/fake-recruiter-coding-tests-target-devs-with-malicious-python-packages
2024-06: An Offer You Can Refuse: UNC2970 Backdoor Deployment Using Trojanized PDF Reader https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/threat-intelligence/unc2970-backdoor-trojanized-pdf-reader
2024-08: North Korean threat actor Citrine Sleet exploiting Chromium zero-day https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2024/08/30/north-korean-threat-actor-citrine-sleet-exploiting-chromium-zero-day/
2024-09: Gleaming Pisces Poisoned Python Packages Campaign Delivers PondRAT Linux and MacOS Backdoors https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/gleaming-pisces-applejeus-poolrat-and-pondrat/
2024-10: Radiant links $50 million crypto heist to North Korean hackers https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/radiant-links-50-million-crypto-heist-to-north-korean-hackers/
2024-11: Operation “SyncHole” Operation SyncHole: Lazarus APT goes back to the well https://securelist.com/operation-synchole-watering-hole-attacks-by-lazarus/116326/
2025-01: Operation “99” North Korean State Sponsored Supply Chain Attack on Tech Innovation https://securityscorecard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Report_011325_Strike_Operation99.pdf
2025-01: Operation “Phantom Circuit” Operation Phantom Circuit: North Korea’s Global Data Exfiltration Campaign https://securityscorecard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Operation-Phantom-Circuit-Report_012725_03.pdf
2025-01: Operation “Marstech Mayhem” Lazarus Group’s Open-Source Trap: North Korea’s New Malware Tactic Targeting Developers and Crypto Wallets https://securityscorecard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Operation-Marstech-Mayhem-Report_021025_03.pdf
2025-02: North Korean hackers linked to $1.5 billion ByBit crypto heist https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/north-korean-hackers-linked-to-15-billion-bybit-crypto-heist/ https://therecord.media/north-koreans-initial-laundering-bybit-hack
2025-04: Beyond the Pond Phish: Unraveling Lazarus Group’s Evolving Tactics https://blog.bitmex.com/bitmex-busts-lazarus-group/
2025-05: BitoPro exchange links Lazarus hackers to $11 million crypto heist https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/bitopro-exchange-links-lazarus-hackers-to-11-million-crypto-heist/

Counter Operations

2017-12: Microsoft and Facebook disrupt ZINC malware attack to protect customers and the internet from ongoing cyberthreats https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2017/12/19/microsoft-facebook-disrupt-zinc-malware-attack-protect-customers-internet-ongoing-cyberthreats/
2018-09: North Korean Regime-Backed Programmer Charged With Conspiracy to Conduct Multiple Cyber Attacks and Intrusions https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/north-korean-regime-backed-programmer-charged-conspiracy-conduct-multiple-cyber-attacks-and
2019-09: Treasury Sanctions North Korean State-Sponsored Malicious Cyber Groups https://home.treasury.gov/index.php/news/press-releases/sm774
2020-03: Treasury Sanctions Individuals Laundering Cryptocurrency for Lazarus Group https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm924
2020-07: EU imposes the first ever sanctions against cyber-attacks https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2020/07/30/eu-imposes-the-first-ever-sanctions-against-cyber-attacks/
2021-02: Three North Korean Military Hackers Indicted in Wide-Ranging Scheme to Commit Cyberattacks and Financial Crimes Across the Globe https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/three-north-korean-military-hackers-indicted-wide-ranging-scheme-commit-cyberattacks-and
2022-04: The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned the address that received the cryptocurrency stolen in the largest cryptocurrency hack ever, the hack of Axie Infinity’s Ronin network bridge. https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/fbi-links-largest-crypto-hack-ever-to-north-korean-hackers/
2022-08: US sanctions crypto mixer Tornado Cash used by North Korean hackers https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/us-sanctions-crypto-mixer-tornado-cash-used-by-north-korean-hackers/
2023-02: South Korea Sanctions Pyongyang Hackers https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/south-korea-sanctions-pyongyang-hackers-a-21193
2023-08: FBI Identifies Cryptocurrency Funds Stolen by DPRK https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/fbi-identifies-cryptocurrency-funds-stolen-by-dprk
2023-10: Justice Department Announces Court-Authorized Action to Disrupt Illicit Revenue Generation Efforts of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Information Technology Workers https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-court-authorized-action-disrupt-illicit-revenue-generation
2023-11: US seizes Sinbad crypto mixer used by North Korean Lazarus hackers https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/us-seizes-sinbad-crypto-mixer-used-by-north-korean-lazarus-hackers/
2025-02: EU sanctions North Korean tied to Lazarus group over involvement in Ukraine war https://therecord.media/eu-sanctions-north-korea-ukraine-war-lazarus-group

Information

Mitre Attack

https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0032/

Other Information

Uuid

41dcfaff-d5f0-484d-8649-ef8c61588eec

Last Card Change

2025-06-30

Threat Intelligence Garden

Explorer

Lazarus Group, Hidden Cobra, Labyrinth Chollima

Lazarus Group, Hidden Cobra, Labyrinth Chollima

Description

Names

Country

Motivation

First Seen

Observed Sectors

Observed Countries

Tools

Operations

Counter Operations

Information

Mitre Attack

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Last Card Change

Graph View

Table of Contents

Backlinks

Threat Intelligence Garden

Explorer

Lazarus Group, Hidden Cobra, Labyrinth Chollima

Lazarus Group, Hidden Cobra, Labyrinth Chollima

Description

Names

Country

Sponsor

Motivation

First Seen

Observed Sectors

Observed Countries

Tools

Operations

Counter Operations

Information

Mitre Attack

Other Information

Uuid

Last Card Change

Graph View

Table of Contents

Backlinks