DPRK

UNK_DeadDrop is a likely North Korean threat actor conducting broad phishing campaigns targeting software developers with fake job offers and code review requests. The campaign delivers malicious GitHub/GitLab repositories that abuse VS Code and Cursor IDE task automation to silently execute cross-platform malware. Linux and macOS systems receive the Overlord Go RAT with custom credential and wallet theft modules, while Windows runs a fileless Node.js/Python pipeline inside the editor's Electron process. The malware exfiltrates cryptocurrency wallets, browser credentials, and OS keychain data to a hardcoded C&C server at 23.137.105.75:5173.

2026-06-245 minSentinelOnehigh

SentinelLABS identified macOS.Gaslight, a DPRK-aligned Rust backdoor targeting macOS systems. The implant establishes a resilient C2 channel via the Telegram Bot API using AES-GCM over pinned TLS and achieves persistence via a masqueraded LaunchAgent. Notably, it embeds a 38-message prompt-injection payload designed to feed fabricated system errors to LLM-assisted triage tools, aiming to abort or corrupt automated analysis. The malware also stages a standalone Python environment to execute a credential and data stealer.

2026-06-016 minElastic Security Labshigh

PHANTOMPULSE is a sophisticated RAT attributed to DPRK-aligned actors that utilizes hardware breakpoints to bypass AMSI, WLDP, and ETW. It establishes a resilient, sinkhole-able command and control channel by resolving C2 URLs from blockchain transaction inputs and employs multiple process injection and UAC bypass techniques.

2026-05-134 minRecorded Futurehigh

North Korean state-sponsored actors, including Lazarus and TraderTraitor, are highly motivated to access advanced AI models to accelerate their labor-intensive cryptocurrency heists. The primary attack vectors are not direct breaches of AI cryptographic perimeters, but rather supply chain compromises, fraudulent hiring of DPRK IT workers, and third-party contractor misuse.

2026-05-135 minCrowdStrikecritical

A DPRK-nexus threat actor, likely STARDUST CHOLLIMA, compromised the widely used Axios npm package using stolen maintainer credentials. The supply chain attack deployed updated, cross-platform variants of the ZshBucket malware capable of arbitrary command execution, payload injection, and file system enumeration, likely targeting the cryptocurrency and fintech sectors for financial gain.

2026-05-135 minElastic Security Labscritical

Suspected DPRK state actors compromised the highly popular Axios npm package by taking over a maintainer's account and publishing malicious versions that deployed a cross-platform RAT via a phantom dependency. Concurrently, a threat group named TeamPCP conducted a cascading supply chain attack affecting Trivy, LiteLLM, and Telnyx to harvest CI/CD credentials. These incidents underscore the critical need for automated package monitoring, rapid credential rotation, and delayed dependency updates.