Labyrinth Chollima (Cryptic Hermit)

 Profile: Cryptic Hermit

Name: Cryptic Hermit (Labyrinth Chollima)

Origin: Suspected to be linked with North Korean cyber espionage groups.

First Identified: The group has been active for a number of years, with their tactics and techniques evolving over time.

Primary Targets:

• Cryptic Hermit primarily targets organizations and entities that are of strategic and political importance, particularly those opposing or competing with North Korean interests.
• Their activities have been observed against government agencies, think tanks, and potentially critical infrastructure sectors in various countries.

Infection Method:

• Known to use sophisticated spear-phishing campaigns with tailored messages to trick targets into compromising their systems.
• May use exploit kits and vulnerabilities in software to gain unauthorized access.
• Utilizes social engineering and deceptive web practices to deliver malware payloads.

Primary Function:

• Engages in covert intelligence gathering, focusing on collecting classified and sensitive political, military, and economic information.
• Potentially involved in operations aimed at disrupting or sabotaging foreign entities deemed as threats to North Korean interests.

Evasion Techniques:

• Uses complex encryption and advanced obfuscation to conceal its operations.
• Employs tactics to evade traditional antivirus and endpoint detection, including the use of fileless malware and living-off-the-land techniques.
• Adopts anti-forensic measures to erase traces of its activities and hinder attribution.

Impact:

• Capable of exfiltrating high-value intelligence that could impact national security and foreign policy decisions.
• May disrupt operations and compromise the integrity of critical systems and data.

Defensive Recommendations:

• Implement stringent email filtering and security measures to guard against spear-phishing.
• Conduct regular security awareness training to help employees identify and report potential threats.
• Use advanced threat detection tools that can identify and mitigate complex and evolving cyber threats.
• Ensure consistent application of patches and updates to software and systems.
• Deploy comprehensive endpoint security solutions with capabilities to detect and respond to advanced persistent threats.

Associated MITRE Techniques:

• Spear-Phishing (T1566): Initiating attacks through targeted phishing emails.
• Exploitation of Public-Facing Applications (T1190): Utilizing known vulnerabilities in public-facing applications to gain access.
• Command and Control (T1071, T1090): Establishing communication with compromised systems to control and exfiltrate data.
• Defense Evasion (T1027, T1070, T1562): Employing various techniques to avoid detection and analysis.
• Discovery (T1082, T1083, T1518): Gathering information about the target's environment to facilitate further attacks.
• Lateral Movement (T1021, T lateral_movement): Spreading through a network to access additional systems and data.
• Credential Access (T1003, T1110): Acquiring credentials to maintain access and move laterally within the network.
• Exfiltration (T1041): Extracting sensitive data from compromised networks.

Cryptic Hermit represents a sophisticated and versatile threat actor, with a focus on espionage and potentially disruptive activities. Its advanced tactics and evolving nature underscore the importance of a robust and adaptive cybersecurity posture.