A Study of North Korea’s Cyber Warfare: Actors, Tactics, and AI Integration
Abstract:
North Korea’s cyber threat operations have emerged as one of the most advanced and aggressive in the world. Over the past decade, the country has built a sophisticated cyber warfare capability, primarily aimed at financial gain, intelligence gathering, and disrupting adversaries. North Korea’s cyber activities are largely driven by its isolation from the global economy and its need to fund its regime amid international sanctions. These operations are conducted by highly skilled state-sponsored groups, most notably the Lazarus Group and APT38, both believed to be controlled by North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB), the country’s primary intelligence agency. The Lazarus Group has been an umbrella term for various North Korean Threat actors. APT38 is a subset of the Lazarus Group, primarily focused on financially motivated cyber operations, especially targeting financial institutions. APT38 has been linked to bank heists and cryptocurrency theft, targeting institutions in more than 30 countries. The group’s operations have netted billions of dollars in stolen funds. North Korean cyber operatives have been linked to intrusions into U.S. defense contractors and other critical agencies, stealing sensitive military and strategic information. The current study provides a detailed analysis of the past cyber operations of North Korea, along with the tactics and techniques used. Commonalities are examined and projections regarding future operations are outlined.
AUTHORS
Vanderbilt University and Georgetown University
Knoxville, Tennessee and Washington D.C., United States of America
Dr. Chuck Easttom is the author of 40 books, including several on computer security, forensics, and cryptography. His books are used at over 60 universities. He has also authored scientific papers (over 70 so far) on digital forensics, machine learning/AI, cyber warfare, cryptography, bioengineering, and applied mathematics. He is an inventor with 26 computer science patents. He holds a Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) in cyber security (dissertation topic: “A Comparative Study of Lattice Based Algorithms for Post Quantum Computing”) and a Ph.D. in Technology focused on nanotechnology (dissertation topic: “The Effects of Complexity on Carbon Nanotube Failures”), and a Ph.D. in computer science with emphasis on applied mathematics (dissertation topic: “A Systematic Framework for Network Forensics Using Graph Theory”), as well as four master’s degrees (one in applied computer science, one in education, one in strategic and defense studies, and one in systems engineering). He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and a Senior Member of the ACM as well. He is also a Distinguished Speaker of the ACM (Association of Computing Machinery). and a Distinguished Visitor of the IEEE Computer Society. Dr. Easttom is an adjunct professor for both Vanderbilt University and Georgetown University.
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Keywords
Journal of Information Warfare
The definitive publication for the best and latest research and analysis on information warfare, information operations, and cyber crime. Available in traditional hard copy or online.
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