APT trends report Q1 2021 (DPRK-related paragraph 1)

Kaspersky Securelist

We discovered that the Kimsuky group adopted a new method to deliver its malware in its latest campaign on a South Korean stock trading application. In this campaign, beginning in December 2020, the group compromised a website belonging to the vendor of stock trading software, replacing the hosted installation package with a malicious one. Kimsuky also delivered its malware by utilizing a malicious Hangul (HWP) document containing COVID-19-related bait that discusses a government relief fund. Both infection vectors ultimately deliver the Quasar RAT. Compared to Kimsuky’s last reported infection chain, composed of various scripts, the new scheme adds complications and introduces less popular file types, involving VBS scripts, XML and Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) files with embedded C# code in order to fetch and execute stagers and payloads. Based on the lure document and characteristics of the compromised installation package, we conclude that this attack is financially motivated, which, as we have previously reported, is one of Kimsuky’s main focus areas.