Security News > 2021 > March > North Korean .Gov Hackers Back With Fake Pen-Test Company
A North Korean government-backed APT group has been caught using a fake pen-testing company and a range of sock puppet social media accounts in an escalation of a hacking campaign targeting security research professionals.
The notorious hacking group, first exposed by Google earlier this year, returned on March 17th with a website for a fake penetration testing company.
"The new website claims the company is an offensive security company located in Turkey that offers pentests, software security assessments and exploits," according to Adam Weidemann, a researcher in Google's TAG. Like previous websites used by this actor, Google said the new website even has a link to a PGP public key at the bottom of the page that was connected to the earlier January attacks.
In addition to the fake "SecuriElite" security assessment company, the campaign also included a batch of carefully crafted social media profiles used to lend credibility to the fake outfit.
The attacker's latest batch of social media profiles continue the trend of posing as fellow security researchers interested in exploitation and offensive security.
Google released data on multiple fake Twitter handles, sock puppet LinkedIn profiles, and attacker-controlled websites belonging to the North Korean APT group.
News URL
Related news
- Safe{Wallet} Confirms North Korean TraderTraitor Hackers Stole $1.5 Billion in Bybit Heist (source)
- Microsoft: North Korean hackers join Qilin ransomware gang (source)
- North Korean Lazarus hackers infect hundreds via npm packages (source)
- North Korean hackers adopt ClickFix attacks to target crypto firms (source)
- North Korean Hackers Disguised as IT Workers Targeting UK, European Companies, Google Finds (source)
- North Korean Hackers Deploy BeaverTail Malware via 11 Malicious npm Packages (source)
- North Korean Hackers Spread Malware via Fake Crypto Firms and Job Interview Lures (source)