CISA, the National Security Agency (NSA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and Republic of Korea’s Defense Security Agency and National Intelligence Service have released a joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA), Ransomware Attacks on Critical Infrastructure Fund DPRK Espionage Activities, to provide information on ransomware activity used by North Korean state-sponsored cyber to target various critical infrastructure sectors, especially Healthcare and Public Health (HPH) Sector organizations.
The authoring agencies urge network defenders to examine their current cybersecurity posture and apply the recommended mitigations in this joint CSA, which include:
- Train users to recognize and report phishing attempts.
- Enable and enforce phishing-resistant multifactor authentication.
- Install and regularly update antivirus and antimalware software on all hosts.
See Ransomware Attacks on Critical Infrastructure Fund DPRK Espionage Activities for ransomware actor’s tactics, techniques, and procedures, indicators of compromise, and recommended mitigations. Additionally, review StopRansomware.gov for more guidance on ransomware protection, detection, and response.
For more information on state-sponsored North Korean malicious cyber activity, see CISA’s North Korea Cyber Threat Overview and Advisories webpage.
