North Korean hackers deploy new tactic to seek information from foreign experts

Cybersecurity researchers found that North Korean hackers have been using impersonation tactics in order to obtain information from foreign experts to better understand Western policy on North Korea. According to the researcher, the hacking group Thallium appears to be among these hacking groups, which have been targeting academics and think tank, among others, for years.

Cybersecurity researchers found that North Korean hackers pretend to work for a think tank to obtain opinions and reports from foreign experts to better understand Western policy on North Korea. According to Reuters, some of the issues raised in the emails concerned China’s reaction to North Korea’s nuclear tests, while researchers dubbed Thallium to be among these hacking groups, which have been targeting government employees, think tanks, academics, and human rights organisations. Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) told Reuters that the impersonation tactic appears to be quicker than hacking someone’s account, but makes it harder for defenders to stop the emails as it is up to the recipient to identify them most of the time.