North Korea

A significant cybersecurity incident has emerged where two hackers released 9GB of stolen data from what they claim is a North Korean state-backed hacker's computer, providing an unprecedented look into the operations of an advanced persistent threat actor.

In a landmark federal court case, Christina Marie Chapman, a 50-year-old resident of Arizona, has been sentenced to 102 months in prison after pleading guilty to helping North Korean IT operatives penetrate the remote networks of more than 300 American businesses. Prosecutors have described the sophisticated fraud operation as one of the largest ever prosecuted involving North Korean cyber schemes targeting the U.S. private sector.

Security researchers have identified a new and sophisticated variant of the KimJongRAT information stealer, notable for its advanced evasion techniques, robust persistence mechanisms, and a novel PowerShell-based implementation. This latest evolution of the KimJongRAT malware family, which first emerged in 2013, demonstrates a heightened focus on stealing both general system data and cryptocurrency assets, leveraging multi-stage delivery chains and legitimate infrastructure to evade detection.