Feds warn of North Korean cyberattacks on US critical infrastructure

A long-known cyber-espionage group working on behalf of North Korea’s foreign intelligence service is systematically stealing technical information and intellectual property from organizations in the US and other countries to advance its own nuclear and military programs.

The group — which security vendors track variously as Andariel, Silent Chollima, Onyx Sleet, and Stonefly — is using ransomware attacks on US health care entities to fund the campaign, the US government warned this week.

A Clear and Present Danger

In a joint advisory, the FBI, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the National Security Agency (NSA), and others identified the threat actor as primarily targeting defense, aerospace, nuclear, and engineering organizations in the US, Japan, South Korea, and India. “The authoring agencies believe the group and the cyber techniques remain an ongoing threat to various industry sectors worldwide,” the advisory noted.

Meanwhile, the US government offered a $10 million reward under the State Department’s Rewards for Justice program for information leading to the arrest of Rim Jong Hyok, whom it believes is a key player in the malicious cyber activity. In tandem, the US Justice Department indicted Jong Hyok on charges related to his involvement in Andariel attacks on multiple US entities, including NASA and two US Air Force bases.

The information that Andariel is pursuing in its current campaign is broad and varied. From defense organizations, the adversary has been stealing information pertaining to heavy and light tanks, self-propelled howitzers, combat ships, autonomous underwater vehicles, and other equipment. Aerospace companies are being targeted for information on everything from fighter aircraft, missiles, and missile defense systems to radars and nano-satellite technology. The goal with attacks on organizations in the nuclear sector is to gather data in areas like uranium processing and enrichment, material waste, and storage. And with engineering firms, the threat actor’s focus is on shipbuilding, robotics, additive manufacturing, 3D printing, and other technologies.

“The authoring agencies encourage critical infrastructure organizations to apply patches for vulnerabilities in a timely manner, protect web servers from web shells, monitor endpoints for malicious activities, and strengthen authentication and remote access protections,” the advisory said.

To read the complete article, visit Dark Reading.