• Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
MUST READ

Allianz Life data breach exposed the data of most of its 1.4M customers

 | 

SECURITY AFFAIRS MALWARE NEWSLETTER ROUND 55

 | 

Security Affairs newsletter Round 534 by Pierluigi Paganini – INTERNATIONAL EDITION

 | 

Law enforcement operations seized BlackSuit ransomware gang’s darknet sites

 | 

Arizona woman sentenced for aiding North Korea in U.S. IT job fraud scheme

 | 

Operation CargoTalon targets Russia’s aerospace with EAGLET malware,

 | 

Unpatched flaw in EoL LG LNV5110R cameras lets hackers gain Admin access

 | 

Koske, a new AI-Generated Linux malware appears in the threat landscape

 | 

Mitel patches critical MiVoice MX-ONE Auth bypass flaw

 | 

Coyote malware is first-ever malware abusing Windows UI Automation

 | 

SonicWall fixed critical flaw in SMA 100 devices exploited in Overstep malware attacks

 | 

DSPM & AI Are Booming: $17.87B and $4.8T Markets by 2033

 | 

Stealth backdoor found in WordPress mu-Plugins folder

 | 

U.S. CISA adds CrushFTP, Google Chromium, and SysAid flaws to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

U.S. CISA urges FCEB agencies to fix two Microsoft SharePoint flaws immediately and added them to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

Sophos fixed two critical Sophos Firewall vulnerabilities

 | 

French Authorities confirm XSS.is admin arrested in Ukraine

 | 

Microsoft linked attacks on SharePoint flaws to China-nexus actors

 | 

Cisco confirms active exploitation of ISE and ISE-PIC flaws

 | 

SharePoint under fire: new ToolShell attacks target enterprises

 | 
  • Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
  • Home
  • APT
  • Breaking News
  • Hacking
  • Intelligence
  • Kimsuky APT exploited BlueKeep RDP flaw in attacks against South Korea and Japan

Kimsuky APT exploited BlueKeep RDP flaw in attacks against South Korea and Japan

Pierluigi Paganini April 21, 2025

Researchers spotted a new North Korea-linked group Kimsuky ‘s campaign, exploiting a patched Microsoft Remote Desktop Services flaw to gain initial access.

While investigating a security breach, the AhnLab SEcurity intelligence Center (ASEC) researchers discovered a North Korea-linked group Kimsuky ‘s campaign, tracked as Larva-24005. Attackers exploited an RDP vulnerability to gain initial access to the target systems.

“In some systems, initial access was gained through exploiting the RDP vulnerability (BlueKeep, CVE-2019-0708). While an RDP vulnerability scanner was found in the compromised system, there is no evidence of its actual use.” reads the report published by ASEC. “The threat actor also used other means to distribute the malware, such as attaching the same file to emails and exploiting the Microsoft Office Equation Editor vulnerability (CVE-2017-11882)[1].”

Once they gained access to the systems, the threat actors modified the configuration by installing MySpy malware and RDPWrap to maintain remote access.

In the final stage, the attackers deployed KimaLogger or RandomQuery keyloggers to record keystrokes. Experts observed Kimsuky sending phishing emails targeting Korea and Japan from compromised systems.

Kimsuky

Since September 2023, the North Korean APT has targeted organizations in South Korea, the U.S., China, Japan, Germany, Singapore, and several other countries. Their activity includes phishing campaigns against South Korea and Japan and attacks on South Korea’s software, energy, and financial sectors starting in October 2023.

ASEC researchers also published indicators of compromise (IoC) for this campaign.

Kimsuky cyberespionage group (aka ARCHIPELAGO, Black Banshee, Thallium, Velvet Chollima, APT43) was first spotted by Kaspersky researchers in 2013. The group works under the control of the Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB) foreign intelligence service. At the end of October 2020, the US-CERT published a report on Kimusky’s recent activities that provided information on their TTPs and infrastructure.

The APT group mainly targets think tanks and organizations in South Korea, other victims were in the United States, Europe, and Russia.

In February, ASEC researchers observed North Korea’s Kimsuky APT group conducting spear-phishing attacks to deliver forceCopy info-stealer malware.

The state-sponsored hackers sent spear-phishing messages to distribute malicious *.LNK shortcut files, disguised as Office documents. When opened, they execute PowerShell or Mshta to download malware like PebbleDash and RDP Wrapper, to control the infected systems.

The attackers use a custom-built RDP Wrapper to enable remote desktop access, likely modifying export functions to evade detection.

The researchers noticed that the threat actors also install proxy malware to achieve external access to the infected systems that are located in a private network.

The Kimsuky group uses keyloggers in multiple file formats, including a PowerShell script.

Kimsuky also used the forceCopy stealer malware to capture keystrokes and extract files from browser directories.

Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook and Mastodon

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs –hacking, Kimsuky)


facebook linkedin twitter

APT BlueKeep Hacking hacking news information security news IT Information Security Kimsuky North Korea Pierluigi Paganini RDP Security Affairs Security News

you might also like

Pierluigi Paganini July 27, 2025
Allianz Life data breach exposed the data of most of its 1.4M customers
Read more
Pierluigi Paganini July 27, 2025
SECURITY AFFAIRS MALWARE NEWSLETTER ROUND 55
Read more

leave a comment

newsletter

Subscribe to my email list and stay
up-to-date!

    recent articles

    Allianz Life data breach exposed the data of most of its 1.4M customers

    Data Breach / July 27, 2025

    SECURITY AFFAIRS MALWARE NEWSLETTER ROUND 55

    Malware / July 27, 2025

    Security Affairs newsletter Round 534 by Pierluigi Paganini – INTERNATIONAL EDITION

    Breaking News / July 27, 2025

    Law enforcement operations seized BlackSuit ransomware gang’s darknet sites

    Cyber Crime / July 26, 2025

    Arizona woman sentenced for aiding North Korea in U.S. IT job fraud scheme

    Intelligence / July 26, 2025

    To contact me write an email to:

    Pierluigi Paganini :
    pierluigi.paganini@securityaffairs.co

    LEARN MORE

    QUICK LINKS

    • Home
    • Cyber Crime
    • Cyber warfare
    • APT
    • Data Breach
    • Deep Web
    • Digital ID
    • Hacking
    • Hacktivism
    • Intelligence
    • Internet of Things
    • Laws and regulations
    • Malware
    • Mobile
    • Reports
    • Security
    • Social Networks
    • Terrorism
    • ICS-SCADA
    • POLICIES
    • Contact me

    Copyright@securityaffairs 2024

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
    Cookie SettingsAccept All
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities...
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT