APT38

Overview

APT38 is a North Korean state-sponsored threat group that specializes in financial cyber operations; it has been attributed to the Reconnaissance General Bureau. Active since at least 2014, APT38 has targeted banks, financial institutions, casinos, cryptocurrency exchanges, SWIFT system endpoints, and ATMs in at least 38 countries worldwide. Significant operations include the 2016 Bank of Bangladesh heist, during which APT38 stole $81 million, as well as attacks against Bancomext and Banco de Chile ; some of their attacks have been destructive. North Korean group definitions are known to have significant overlap, and some security researchers report all North Korean state-sponsored cyber activity under the name Lazarus Group instead of tracking clusters or subgroups.

Naming & attribution

APT38 is tracked under 7 names across the industry. It uses 56 documented ATT&CK techniques — more than 86% of the 174 groups tracked here. Activity attributed since at least 2014.

Distinctive techniques

Techniques this group uses that are rare across the other 173 tracked groups — these carry more signal than the near-universal ones.

• T1036.006 Space after Filename — used by 1 of 174 groups
• T1565.001 Stored Data Manipulation — used by 1 of 174 groups
• T1565.002 Transmitted Data Manipulation — used by 1 of 174 groups
• T1565.003 Runtime Data Manipulation — used by 1 of 174 groups
• T1686.002 Network Device Firewall — used by 1 of 174 groups
• T1480.002 Mutual Exclusion — used by 2 of 174 groups
• T1053.003 Cron — used by 3 of 174 groups
• T1553.005 Mark-of-the-Web Bypass — used by 3 of 174 groups

Closest groups by technique overlap

Computed from shared ATT&CK techniques. Overlap is not attribution — distinct actors converge on the same tradecraft — but a high share is a useful pivot.

• APT32 Vietnam — 29 shared techniques (28% overlap)
• Medusa Group — 24 shared techniques (27% overlap)
• TA505 — 19 shared techniques (27% overlap)
• Lazarus Group North Korea — 30 shared techniques (25% overlap)
• Gamaredon Group Russia — 25 shared techniques (25% overlap)
• APT37 North Korea — 17 shared techniques (25% overlap)

Targets

Government · Private sector

Regions

Australia · Bangladesh · Bangladesh Bank · Brazil · Canada · China · Cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea · France · Germany · Guatemala · Hong Kong · India · Japan · Sony Pictures Entertainment · South Korea · Thailand · United Kingdom · United States

Capabilities

• Destructive / data-wiping operations — ATT&CK T1485, T1561.002; software: KillDisk
• Custom malware/implant development — ATT&CK: 4 attributed custom malware families

TTPs — 56 techniques across 12 tactics

Tools & malware (6)

ECCENTRICBANDWAGON · Net · HOPLIGHT · Mimikatz · KillDisk · DarkComet

Reporting (3)

• How Microsoft names threat actors — Microsoft
• NICKEL GLADSTONE Threat Profile — SecureWorks
• CrowdStrike 2021 Global Threat Report — CrowdStrike