Latest coverage for North Korea

Also, Taiwan Rail Hack, Massive DDoS Attack and Karakurt Jail SentenceThis week, Microsoft Edge exposed passwords, Taiwan police make arrests in high-speed rail hack and a 2.45 billion-request DDoS attack. A Karakurt negotiator jailed, North Korean IT worker scams led to prison terms and France detained a teen over a government data breach. Another Ivanti zero-day.

Also: TrustedVolumes, Wasabi Protocol and Ekubo HacksThis week, Bitcoin Core revealed a memory safety flaw, hackers exploited TrustedVolumes, Wasabi Protocol and Ekubo, Bithumb suspension paused, sentencing in U.S. theft case, prosecutors seek 20-year sentence for Delio CEO and North Korea denied that it's a thief.

Website Popular in Korean Ethnic Enclave in China Hosts Apps Laced With a BackdoorA North Korean hacking group has been spying on a Korean ethnic enclave in China by infiltrating the Android apps of a regional gaming platform that hosts digital card and board games. Researchers attributed the supply-chain attack to a threat actor that Eset tracks as ScarCruft.

Also: Google’s $40B AI Bet, Insights From Google Next ConferenceIn this week's panel, four ISMG editors discussed North Korea's use of fake video meetings to fuel crypto fraud, Google's $40 billion investment in Anthropic and what it signals for the AI race, and key takeaways from Google Next in Las Vegas on enterprise AI adoption.

Also: Cartier Heir Imprisoned, Believe Founder Benjamin Pasternak ArrestedThis week, North Korea hacks, Cartier heir jailed, Believe founder arrested, Cambodia scam network sanctioned. A U.S. Army soldier's insider bet, Litecoin, sentences in laundering and romance fraud cases, France probed crypto kidnapping. Tennessee banned crypto ATMs, Kelp DAO and Alex Mashinsky.

Video of Industry Figures Harvested During Meetings and Used to Lure Future VictimsNorth Korean hackers are pretending to be cryptocurrency insiders, in an attempt to trick targets into accepting Calendly calendar invites. The social engineering ruse is designed to infect Windows and macOS systems with crypto stealers, and to harvest video of real-life people for future lures.

Also: Cambodia Moves to Combat Online Scam NetworksEvery week, ISMG rounds up cybersecurity incidents in digital assets. This week, Bithumb's recovery plan, Circle criticized, a new Cambodian law to combat online scam networks, Bitcoin Depot hack, panic after Stabble's alleged North Korea link and HypurrFi's domain hijack.

Expect Fallout After Remote Access Trojan Added to Popular JavaScript NPM PackageA supply-chain attack backdoored versions of Axios, a popular JavaScript library that's present in many different software packages, to distribute a cross-platform, remote access Trojan. Identifying the full fallout from the attack could take some time, experts warned.

Also, Russian Signal Phishing, Iran-Linked Malware, Breaches in Spain and FranceThis week, Tycoon 2FA, Trio-Tech, messaging app spying and a ransomware broker sentenced. Iran-linked hackers. Mazda disclosed a breach. Oracle patched a flaw. North Korean actors weaponized VS Code, a Spanish port ransomware attack, a French teacher data breach and a healthcare firm victim surge.

IT Worker Scheme, Laptop Farm Siphon Funds Back to North KoreaA U.S. federal judge sentenced a now-former Army soldier to one year in prison Friday for renting his identity to North Korean IT workers who used it to collect more than $193,000 in salaries from American companies. Also sentenced were two California men who facilitated $1.28M in fraudulent salaries.

Former DoD CIO Leslie Beavers on Nation-State Attacks and DefenseLeslie Beavers, retired brigadier general and former acting CIO and principal deputy CIO of the Department of Defense, said the United States is already experiencing a "cyber invasion," driven by coordinated activity from adversaries including Iran, China, Russia and North Korea.

Also, More ClickFix Attacks and Teen Booters Arrested in PolandThis week, Russian hackers targeted Signal and WhatsApp users, permit-fee phishing hit U.S. applicants, ClickFix on WordPress sites, Microsoft patched 80 bugs, a 14K-router botnet, Polish teens held over DDoS tools and Finland warned of Russian, Chinese espionage. North Korean IT workers for hire.

Also, More ShinyHunters Breaches, North Korea Laptop Farm Operator SentencedThis week, Finland's Aleksanteri Kivimäki sentenced. ShinyHunters breaches. Laptop farm rancher sentenced. Oregon state agency hacker sentenced. African scammers arrested. MuddyWater AI-assisted hacks. Advantest ransomware incident, SolarWinds and Microsoft patches. FileZen flaw. QualDerm breach.

Report: Lazarus Group Pivoting to Medusa Ransomware for Extortion AttacksNorth Korean-state backed Lazarus Group hackers are using Medusa ransomware in extortion attacks on U.S. healthcare entities despite a 2024 U.S. indictment of Rim Jong Hyok, an alleged member of the Lazarus subgroup Stonefly, according to a new threat intelligence report.

Prompt Candidates to Wave, Check IP Addresses and Ask About Their Supposed LocationThey're young, tech-savvy and often the most productive remote worker on the team. They're a major security risk numbering in the thousands that a multitude of Fortune 500 companies have unwittingly ushered into their network. They are North Korean IT workers.

China, Iran, North Korea Hackers Exploit Gemini Across Attack Life CycleState-backed hackers weaponized Google's artificial intelligence model Gemini to accelerate cyberattacks, using the productivity tool as an offensive asset for reconnaissance, social engineering and malware development. Google said it has disabled accounts and strengthened defenses.

Also, CIRO Phishing Breach, Ingram Micro Ransomware and CVE SurgeThis week, DOGE posted sensitive data on an outside server. A phishing attack affected 750,000 Canadians. A hacktivism warning from the U.K. NCSC. An Ingram Micro breach. CVEs surged in 2025. SK Telecom challenged a fine. Researchers disclosed Chainlit flaws. North Korean hackers abused VS Code.

Berlin Readies Legislation Authorizing More Aggressive Stance in CyberspaceGermany wants to drastically step up defenses against cyberattacks from foes such as Russia, China, Iran and North Korea, and it's looking to key ally Israel for lessons and cooperation.

Also: NodeCordRAT Malware, North Korean QR-Phishing CampaignThis week, U.K. crypto exchanges linked to Iranian sanctions evasion, NodeCordRAT malware spread via npm, an FBI alert on North Korean QR-code phishing, illicit crypto hit $154 billion in 2025 and U.S. President Donald Trump said he won't pardon Sam Bankman-Fried.

Chainalysis Data Shows Access-Driven Attacks Reshaping RiskHackers stole more than $3.4 billion in crypto this year. Losses were driven by a small number of high-impact breaches. Chainalysis data shows how North Korea actors, centralized platforms and expanding retail adoption reshaped where crypto risk accumulated.