The Cyber Defense eMagazine November Edition for 2023

That being said, the Russian regime is under such pressure that it is likely to overlook such intrusions in
pursuit of much higher and indeed existential priorities for itself. Russia may even use North Korean APTs
as proxies in the future, since DPRK is already sanctioned almost to the maximum and in case of eventual
diplomatic fallout has thus very little to lose. Thus, the digital flank of the Russia–Ukraine conflict which
Russia tries to promote as a new-world-order-type-of-conflict between the West and loose anti-western
coalition spearheaded by Russia and China and the ongoing tensions on the Korean peninsula are in
risk of being greatly enhanced by closer collaboration between Russian and North Korea, that would
bring a country with precious very little to lose to engage the West in the fifth domain.
Conclusion
Both North Korea and Russia are highly cyber-capable nations with a very high degree of willingness to
use cyber as a tool of statecraft. Hackers of both countries can disrupt or break key infrastructure and
steal sensitive information. Russia’s efforts in online fraud, disinformation and disruption to core
infrastructure has become a significant threat to Western societies. North Korean cyber operations are
also increasingly sophisticated. North Korean state hackers both collect intelligence and generate
revenue for the state. The cyber espionage efforts are focused on the state’s perceived adversaries:
mainly South Korea, the United States, and Japan; collecting intelligence on other countries’ military
capabilities and stealing technologies that could be used by North Korean military – these efforts also
include Russia and China as potential technology sources; and increasingly on stealing funds in the form
of cryptocurrency that the state later uses to fund its UN sanctioned missile and nuclear programmes.
The distinct North Korean threat actors have repeatedly shown overlaps in targeting in the recent past
and their efforts have been increasingly sophisticated.
An agreement to supply artillery shells is the most significant result of the Russia–North Korea
cooperation but it is not the only one aspect of this deal, which paves the way for more dangerous
technology and know-how transfers and it connects war in Europe more directly with tensions in Asia.
Both Russia and DPRK have been showing contempt for international rules in recent years and have
actively and unscrupulously used cyber to promote their agenda. North Korea is to remain focused on
targets related to its political, economic, and defense interests in the region but the announced
heightened security cooperation between the two regimes should be treated as portending increased risk
in cyberspace, especially for USA, South Korea, Japan and European NATO countries.
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