North Korean hackers posed as NY Times, Voice of America staff

The group is particularly adept at stealing personally identifiable information and then using that data to create fake web accounts and register domains, security experts said. — Unsplash

Suspected North Korean hackers are posing as journalists and trying to gather intelligence about international officials’ approach to nuclear security policy and Kim Jong Un’s government, according to new research.

A prolific cyber-espionage group that’s targeted US and South Korean government organisations, academics and think tanks in recent months is using fabricated personas in order to collect strategic intelligence on behalf of North Korean leaders, according to findings published Tuesday by Mandiant, a threat intelligence unit of Google Cloud.