• 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

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

 | 

CrushFTP zero-day actively exploited at least since July 18

 | 

Hardcoded credentials found in HPE Aruba Instant On Wi-Fi devices

 | 

MuddyWater deploys new DCHSpy variants amid Iran-Israel conflict

 | 
  • 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
  • Cyber warfare
  • Hacking
  • Intelligence
  • Malware
  • North Korea APT group targeted tens of UN Security Council officials

North Korea APT group targeted tens of UN Security Council officials

Pierluigi Paganini October 01, 2020

North Korea-linked APT group targeted UN Security Council officials over the past year, states a report from the United Nations organ.

A North-Korea-linked cyber espionage group has launched spear-phishing attacks aimed at compromising tens of officials from the United Nations Security Council.

The campaign targeted at least 28 UN officials, including at least 11 individuals representing six countries of the UN Security Council.

The campaign was disclosed in a UN report published at the end of August, the attacks took place this year and were spotted by an unnamed UN member state that reported it to the UN Security Council.

“According to information from another Member State, at least 28 individuals, including at least 11 officials from six members of the Security Council, became the targets of a spear-phishing campaign in 2020 which appeared to have been conducted by a Kimsuky advanced persistent threat group.” reads the report. “According to the information, these Democratic People’s Republic of Korea cyberactors launched a “security alert” – themed spear-phishing campaign in mid-March against Gmail accounts of the targeted individuals by placing malicious links in the email, utilizing a link to bypass spam blockers of the potential victims.”

The UN Security Council attributes the attack to the KimSuky APT group.

The Kimsuky APT group has been analyzed by several security teams, it was first spotted by Kaspersky researcher in 2013, recently its activity was detailed by ESTsecurity and by the malware researchers from Cybaze ZLab.

The campaign took place between March and April, threat actors attempted to compromise the Gmail accounts of UN officials by carrying out spear-phishing messages.

The spear-phishing messages were posing as UN security alerts or requests for interviews from journalists, a UN member also reported that the attacks were also launched through WhatsApp.

un security council attack

The emails were designed to look like UN security alerts or requests for interviews from reporters, both designed to convince officials to access phishing pages or run malware files on their systems.

The country which reported the Kimsuky attacks to the UN Security Council also said that similar campaigns were also carried out against members of its own government, with some of the attacks taking place via WhatsApp, and not just email.

The UN Security Council also published another report in March that detailed two other Kimsuky campaigns against its officials.

The first campaign targeted 38 email addresses belonging to members of the Security Council, while the second campaign targeted officials from China, France, Belgium, Peru, and South Africa in August.

“Cyberattacks against the Panel continued. An expert received a phishing email with a fake security alert from the United Nations, and multiple experts received an email in which the attacker spoofed as a member of the editing staff of a journal soliciting an article from experts. The Panel notes the similar cyberattacks against the expert community on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in 2020.” concludes the report. “The Panel reiterates its view that cyberattacks, both past and ongoing, against such United Nations bodies as the Committee and the Panel, which are mandated to monitor the implementation of United Nations sanctions, amount to sanctions evasion, considering the persistent and highly disruptive nature of the attacks.”

[adrotate banner=”9″][adrotate banner=”12″]

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, North Korea)

[adrotate banner=”5″]

[adrotate banner=”13″]


facebook linkedin twitter

APT Hacking hacking news information security news Intelligence IT Information Security Kimsuky malware Pierluigi Paganini Security Affairs Security News UN Security Council

you might also like

Pierluigi Paganini July 26, 2025
Law enforcement operations seized BlackSuit ransomware gang’s darknet sites
Read more
Pierluigi Paganini July 26, 2025
Arizona woman sentenced for aiding North Korea in U.S. IT job fraud scheme
Read more

leave a comment

newsletter

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

    recent articles

    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

    Operation CargoTalon targets Russia’s aerospace with EAGLET malware,

    Intelligence / July 25, 2025

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

    Security / July 25, 2025

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

    Malware / July 25, 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