APT38

Overview

APT38 is a North Korean state-sponsored threat group that specializes in financial cyber operations; it has been attributed to the Reconnaissance General Bureau. Active since at least 2014, APT38 has targeted banks, financial institutions, casinos, cryptocurrency exchanges, SWIFT system endpoints, and ATMs in at least 38 countries worldwide. Significant operations include the 2016 Bank of Bangladesh heist, during which APT38 stole $81 million, as well as attacks against Bancomext and Banco de Chile ; some of their attacks have been destructive. North Korean group definitions are known to have significant overlap, and some security researchers report all North Korean state-sponsored cyber activity under the name Lazarus Group instead of tracking clusters or subgroups.

Targets

Government · Private sector

Regions

Australia · Bangladesh · Bangladesh Bank · Brazil · Canada · China · Cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea · France · Germany · Guatemala · Hong Kong · India · Japan · Sony Pictures Entertainment · South Korea · Thailand · United Kingdom · United States

Capabilities

• Destructive / data-wiping operations — ATT&CK T1485, T1561.002; software: KillDisk
• Custom malware/implant development — ATT&CK: 4 attributed custom malware families

TTPs — 56 techniques across 12 tactics

Tools & malware (6)

ECCENTRICBANDWAGON · Net · HOPLIGHT · Mimikatz · KillDisk · DarkComet

Reporting (3)

• How Microsoft names threat actors — Microsoft
• NICKEL GLADSTONE Threat Profile — SecureWorks
• CrowdStrike 2021 Global Threat Report — CrowdStrike