Inside a North Korean Phishing Operation Targeting DevOps Employees
Sophisticated threat actors are increasingly targeting organizations with tailored phishing campaigns. Recently, SecurityScorecard detected a similar attempt against our team—and stopped it in its tracks. We’re sharing our findings to support the InfoSec community and strengthen collective defenses against continually evolving threats.
On October 3rd, the SecurityScorecard STRIKE Team identified a North Korean state actor attempting to deploy a malicious JavaScript backdoor through a fake job recruitment scheme. The attacker targeted a SecurityScorecard DevOps engineer, using direct social media contact to entice them into executing malicious code disguised as a job opportunity. Thanks to the swift actions of our Information Security team, we blocked the attack before any damage occurred.
This attack exemplifies an evolving tactic: using social media to directly engage targets rather than traditional phishing documents. Analysis of Network Flow data reveals that this same backdoor has affected organizations worldwide. By publishing our findings, we aim to raise awareness and remind the InfoSec community that these threats persist, targeting organizations of all sizes. Our goal remains clear: to make the digital world a safer place by staying vigilant and sharing critical insights.
