In 2021, a North Korean-linked threat actor known as TA406 ramped up its attacks, including credential harvesting activities, according to Proofpoint. The adversary, also known as Kimsuky, Thallium, and Konni by security researchers, has been attacking companies in sectors like education, government, media, and research, as well as other businesses. According to Proofpoint, TA406 is the most closely associated with Kimsuky activity, which is tracked by the security firm as three distinct threat actors: TA406, TA408, and TA427.
Kaspersky researchers initially discovered the TA406 cyberespionage group in 2013. The US-CERT published a report on Kimusky's latest operations towards the end of October 2020, detailing their TTPs and infrastructure. The APT group primarily targeted South Korean think tanks and organizations, with victims in the United States, Europe, and Russia.
“Our analysts have tracked TA406 campaigns targeting customers since 2018, but the threat actor’s campaigns remained low in volume until the beginning of January 2021,” the company said.
During the first half of the year, Proofpoint noticed weekly attacks against journalists, foreign policy experts, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), particularly those related to actions that affect the Korean Peninsula. Journalists and academics were also targeted. TA406 targeted high-ranking political figures at numerous governmental institutions, and consultancy firms, defense institutions, law enforcement agencies, and economic and financial organizations, as part of their March 2021 campaign.
Amadey, Android Moez, BabyShark, CARROTBAT/CARROTBALL, FatBoy, KONNI, SANNY, and YoreKey are among the malware families used. It also appears that NavRAT and QuasarRAT were used.
“Generally, TA406 phishing campaigns focus on individuals in North America, Russia, and China, with the actors frequently masquerading as Russian diplomats and academics, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, human rights officials, or Korean individuals. TA406 has also targeted individuals and organizations related to cryptocurrency for the purpose of financial gain.” reads the report.
According to the security experts, TA406 has been involved in financially motivated assaults, such as sextortion and the targeting of cryptocurrency, just like other North Korean state-sponsored actors. “Proofpoint assesses with high confidence that TA406 operates on behalf of the North Korean government. Proofpoint anticipates this threat actor will continue to conduct corporate credential theft operations frequently, targeting entities of interest to the North Korean government,” the security firm notes.
