Tag Archives: North Korea

The Department of the Treasury has issued sanctions against North Korean cyber terrorists who have targeted critical infrastructure. These state-sponsored hacking groups, known as Lazarus Group, Andariel and Bluenoroff, have been working with the Reconnaissance General Bureau, a North Korean intelligence agency, the department said Friday.

U.S. Cyber Command has uploaded a sample of malware that is associated with a North Korean advanced persistent threat group and designed to perform data exfiltration through a backdoor, TechCrunch reported Friday.

The Department of Homeland Security in partnership with FBI identified the malware potentially used by the North Korean government to hack into federal and industry targets. The agencies released the Malware Analysis Report on Wednesday providing information on the malware variant, called HOPLIGHT, which is linked to the Pyongyang-tied cyber attack HIDDEN COBRA. “DHS and FBI are distributing this MAR to enable network defense and reduce exposure to North Korean government malicious cyber activity,” the report states. 

A new Defense Intelligence Agency report concludes that the U.S. should continue to develop space-based capabilities to keep its advantage in the space domain, the Department of Defense reported Monday. The “Challenges to Security in Space” report deals with the efforts of Russia and China to challenge the ability of the U.S. and other countries to use space.

The U.S. intelligence community issued a new report warning the government of a strengthening alliance between Russia and China and the negative impacts on U.S. allies of previous policy changes by the Trump administration, CBS News reported Tuesday. During a recent meeting with the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, top intelligence officials presented the 2019 Worldwide Threat Assessment. 

The White House and the Department of Defense have issued a new policy framework to protect U.S. forces and allies from missile threats posed by rogue states and other potential adversaries, U.S. Strategic Command reported Thursday. President Donald Trump released the 2019 Missile Defense Review with Vice President Mike Pence and Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan on Thursday at the Pentagon.

President Donald Trump and the Department of Defense plan to release on Thursday a document that lays out the administration’s missile defense strategy, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. The Missile Defense Review comes as Russia, China, Iran and North Korea pursue development work on ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and hypersonic glide vehicles that could pose a threat to U.S. forces and allies in Asia and Europe.

The Government Accountability Office has issued a report that divides into four categories 26 long-range threats to U.S. national security identified by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the departments of Defense, Homeland Security and State. Those categories are dual-use technologies; weapons; events and demographic changes; and political and military advancements of adversaries, GAO said Thursday.

The Aerospace Industries Association has urged Congress and President Donald Trump to ensure a “steady and stable growth” in defense budget for fiscal 2019 and beyond in order to counter threats posed by transnational terrorism, China, Russia, North Korea and Iran, Defense News reported Thursday. AIA said in its Thursday statement lawmakers and the administration have started to provide the Defense Department with additional budget for fiscal years 2018 and 2019 to build up military readiness against multiple threats.

Defense Secretary James Mattis has said the Pentagon developed the National Defense Strategy by assessing threats from the angles of power, will and urgency, Defense.gov reported Wednesday. “In terms of raw power right now, I look at Russia and the nuclear arsenal they have,” Mattis said Tuesday during a discussion at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington.