Moonstone Sleet
Moonstone Sleet is a North Korean state actor tracked by Microsoft, also referenced as Storm-1789. The provided content links Moonstone Sleet to North Korea-aligned activity and notes Microsoft Threat Intelligence reported that affiliates of the Qilin ransomware operation include Moonstone Sleet. The content also states the North Korean state-sponsored cyber group Moonstone Sleet reportedly began deploying Qilin ransomware in February. Observed tradecraft in the provided content includes staging malicious capabilities online for follow-on download; using curl to connect to adversary-controlled infrastructure and retrieve additional payloads; delivering payloads through multiple rounds of obfuscation and encoding to evade defenses and analysis; using encrypted payloads within files, including delivering encrypted payloads in pieces that are later combined into a new PE during installation; embedding payloads in trojanized software for follow-on execution; and relying on user interaction with malicious files such as a trojanized PuTTY installer for initial execution. The content also states Moonstone Sleet delivered payloads as spearphishing attachments. Post-compromise behaviors described in the content include gathering victim system information, victim network configuration information, and browser information; deploying malware such as YouieLoader capable of system user discovery and browser information capture; and using Registry Run keys and scheduled tasks for execution during initial victim infection. The content also notes TTP similarities between Moonstone Sleet activity and other North Korea-aligned operations, specifically fake recruiters, trojanized job challenges, and software used during interviews, and compares these patterns to Lazarus DreamJob and DangerousPassword campaigns.
Know when an actor pivots toward your sector
Mallory correlates actor tradecraft and target patterns against your stack, your sector, and your geography. See overlap before they land.
Targeting
Who, where, and (when attributed) which flag flies behind the operation. Pulled from open-source reporting and Mallory's analyst review.
Where they're from
Attributed origin per open-source reporting.
- KP
Tradecraft
45 distinct techniques observed across reporting, grouped by tactic. Hover any cell for the evidence excerpt; click through for MITRE's full description.
Associated malware families
6 malware families attributed to this actor across reporting.
1 additional family tracked in Mallory.
Associated vulnerabilities
3 CVEs this actor has used in observed campaigns. 3 of them exploited in the wild.
This detection identifies instances where Windows Explorer.exe spawns PowerShell or cmd.exe processes, particularly focusing on executions initiated by LNK files. This behavior is associated with the ZDI-CAN-25373 Windows shortcut zero-day vulnerability, where specially crafted LNK files are used to trigger malicious code execution through cmd.exe or powershell.exe. This technique has been actively exploited by multiple APT groups in targeted attacks through both HTTP and SMB delivery methods.
This detection focuses on identifying vulnerable versions 18.12.407 and 18.12.416 of the 3CX desktop app... these specific versions have known vulnerabilities... CVE CVE-2023-29059
Google released an update and thanked us for discovering this attack... CVE-2024-4947... The exploit contains code for two vulnerabilities: the first is used to gain the ability to read and write Chrome process memory from the JavaScript... CVE-2024-4947 ... is the vulnerability in this new compiler.
Observables
39 indicators attributed to this actor: domains, IPs, hashes, and other artifacts pulled from reporting. View more in app.
Recent activity
20 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.
Listed as a threat actor associated with the malicious file execution technique detected by this analytic.
Listed in the detection annotations as a threat actor associated with EFI volume mounting / installation-related behavior.
Listed as a threat actor associated with exploitation of public-facing applications and malware/tool upload activity relevant to Confluence exploitation detection.
Referenced as a threat actor associated with spearphishing attachment activity involving malicious file execution and potential credential capture via UDL files.
The version that knows your environment.
Match sector + geo + tech-stack targeting against your real footprint.
Every observed MITRE ATT&CK technique, grouped by tactic.
Families this actor is known to deploy, with IOCs and behavior.
CVEs this actor has used in known campaigns.
YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.
Domains, IPs, and hashes tied to this actor, refreshed continuously.