Kumsong 121 North Korean Hacker Group Conducts Cyber Attacks via Social Media

Kumsong 121 the North Korean Hacker gang has unleashed a cyberattack employing social media in North Korea. The North Korean hacking attempts are a matter of concern for computer users and mobile telephone users likewise. 

Given the frequency of cyber threats from North Korea, smartphone and computer users ought to stay careful, safety experts advise. 

Kumsong 121 is conducting “smishing” cyberattacks against Android mobile phone users, as per EST Security. When victims download an infected Android package that a hacker creates, most of its private information, comprising address books, text messages, telephone records, locations, sound recordings, and images stored on their phones, is disclosed. 

EST Security reported on Tuesday in a news release that Kumsong 121 had discovered a potential “advanced persistent threat” (APT). The attack used a very complicated technique: the assailants used social media instead of e-mail to support the target and deliver a malicious attachment. 

The hackers selected extra aims from their pals in social media upon hacking an individual’s social media profile. The hackers then dropped the target’s security and became mates by delivering chat messages containing nice welcomes and regular issues or gossip. 

The hackers subsequently delivered the corrupted document file via e-mail to the target, asking for input in a recent piece on North Korean matters. A macro virus is included in the accompanying document file that makes the computer system exploitable when the email recipient acknowledges the file. The hackers effectively grafted social media into conventional attacks against specific persons on “spear phishing.” 

Indeed, a hacker gang from North Korea recently tried to disseminate a contaminated record by disabling the social media account of a defector from North Korea and chatting with their friends. 

Kumsong 121 has infiltrated mobile phones of well-known personalities, including particular South Korean legislators, to obtain their personal information, claimed Mun Chong Hyun, head for the EST security response center (ESRC). He said hackers attack organizations in North Korea’s websites or build counterfeit Facebook accounts for those functioning in the North Korean industry on an ongoing basis. 

“In particular, they often use mobile phones or email to contact you, pretending to be an acquaintance or industry expert,” he said. “When sent .apk or .doc files, the safest thing is to directly call the sender and confirm whether they are legit.”