Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a new malware strain for Windows that’s capable of stealing sensitive data from any connected device, including mobile phones, and is apparently being used by groups connected to the North Korean government.
Experts from ESET said to have stumbled upon a previously unknown infostealer called Dolphin. Apparently, Dolphin is being used by a threat actor known as APT 37, or Erebus, a group with known ties to the North Korean government. The group, the researchers are saying, has been active for roughly a decade.
Dolphin was first spotted in April 2021, but has since evolved into quite the beast. Nowadays, it is capable of stealing information from web browsers (stored passwords, credit card data, etc.), taking screenshots of the infected endpoints, as well as logging all keystrokes.
Sending everything to Google Drive
The malware gets its commands from a Google Drive instance, and sends all the gathered intelligence there as well.
Besides all this, Dolphin also gathers information such as your computer’s name, local and external IP address, security solutions installed on the endpoint, hardware specs and operating system version.
What’s more, it scans all local and removable drives for sensitive data (documents, emails, photos and videos, etc.), as well as smartphones. ESET says this was made possible through the Windows Portable Device API.
So far, four different versions of the malware were spotted in the wild, with the latest, version 3.0, released in January 2022.
North Korea is relatively active on the cybercrime scene, with a couple of major state-sponsored groups wreaking havoc across the digital world. Perhaps the most infamous example is Lazarus Group, which managed to steal some $600 million from cryptocurrency firm Ronin Bridge. Intelligence reports suggest the North Korean government is employing cybercriminal outfits to fund its operations.
Via: BleepingComputer (opens in new tab)
