North Korea ramps up intelligence-gathering cyberattacks

Numerous countries' government and defense organizations have been targeted by North Korean hacking groups in cyberespionage attacks since the beginning of the year, reports BleepingComputer. Successful attacks have been launched by North Korean threat operations Ruby Sleet, also known as CERIUM, and Onyx Sleet, also known as PLUTONIUM, against a Russian aerospace research organization and Russian university device in March, according to a Microsoft report. Russian diplomatic entities have also been subjected to a phishing campaign by Opal Street, also known as OSMIUM, during the same month. Attacks against arms firms in Israel and Germany have also been launched by Ruby Sleet and Diamond Sleet, also known as ZINC and Lazarus. "From November 2022 to January 2023, Microsoft observed a second instance of targeting overlaps, with Ruby Sleet and Diamond Sleet compromising defense firms... Since January 2023, Diamond Sleet has also compromised defense companies in Brazil, Czechia, Finland, Italy, Norway, and Poland," said Microsoft.