Kimsuky
aka APT43, Emerald Sleet, Velvet Chollima, THALLIUM, Black Banshee
A North Korean espionage group that poses as journalists and academics in emails to pump Korea and foreign-policy experts for information. It targets South Korea, the US, Japan and Europe.
- Alert level
- 3/ 5
- Reports & advisories (90 days)
- 0
- Known exploited CVEs
- 1
- Personal data leaked (disclosed)
- None confirmed
Attribution
- Assessed as North Korean actors — US FBI, State Department and NSA
- A DPRK-based cyber espionage group — MITRE ATT&CK
Exploited vulnerabilities and targeted products
If you run any of these products, first make sure they are updated to a fixed version.
How they attack
Entry
Emails posing as experts
Like a 'reporter' or 'professor' who asks for your views, builds trust over several emails, and only then hands over the trap.
Entry
Abusing weak sender checks
Like faking the return address on an envelope at a post office that never checks.
Goal
Quietly stealing information
Like a spy who stays for months, copying files from the cabinet a little at a time.
Sources
Attributions are quoted as assessed by governments and security vendors. VulnPulse does not make attributions itself.
Leak counts only add up figures disclosed by the affected companies or authorities, never the attackers' own claims. We do not list victim names or link to leak sites.
The alert level is calculated automatically from reports and advisories in the last 90 days, known exploited vulnerabilities, and whether the group has targeted Japan.
Updated 2026-10-23 · daily