{
	"id": "ddfde192-7e21-4f3e-9113-b4f1598ae036",
	"created_at": "2026-04-06T00:22:20.758021Z",
	"updated_at": "2026-04-10T13:12:57.722305Z",
	"deleted_at": null,
	"sha1_hash": "40e12062a9208e9093c6374755f4f62b94640b1c",
	"title": "MAR-10271944-2.v1 – North Korean Trojan: ARTFULPIE | CISA",
	"llm_title": "",
	"authors": "",
	"file_creation_date": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
	"file_modification_date": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
	"file_size": 55537,
	"plain_text": "MAR-10271944-2.v1 – North Korean Trojan: ARTFULPIE | CISA\r\nPublished: 2020-02-14 · Archived: 2026-04-05 19:55:26 UTC\r\nNotification\r\nThis report is provided \"as is\" for informational purposes only. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) does not\r\nprovide any warranties of any kind regarding any information contained herein. The DHS does not endorse any commercial\r\nproduct or service referenced in this bulletin or otherwise.\r\nThis document is marked TLP:WHITE--Disclosure is not limited. Sources may use TLP:WHITE when information carries\r\nminimal or no foreseeable risk of misuse, in accordance with applicable rules and procedures for public release. Subject to\r\nstandard copyright rules, TLP:WHITE information may be distributed without restriction. For more information on the\r\nTraffic Light Protocol (TLP), see http://www.us-cert.gov/tlp.\r\nSummary\r\nDescription\r\nThis Malware Analysis Report (MAR) is the result of analytic efforts between Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the\r\nFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Department of Defense (DoD). Working with U.S. Government partners,\r\nDHS, FBI, and DoD identified Trojan malware variants used by the North Korean government. This malware variant has\r\nbeen identified as ARTFULPIE. The U.S. Government refers to malicious cyber activity by the North Korean government as\r\nHIDDEN COBRA. For more information on HIDDEN COBRA activity, visit https[:]//www[.]us-cert.gov/hiddencobra.\r\nDHS, FBI, and DoD are distributing this MAR to enable network defense and reduce exposure to North Korean government\r\nmalicious cyber activity.\r\nThis MAR includes malware descriptions related to HIDDEN COBRA, suggested response actions and recommended\r\nmitigation techniques. Users or administrators should flag activity associated with the malware and report the activity to the\r\nCybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) or the FBI Cyber Watch (CyWatch), and give the activity the\r\nhighest priority for enhanced mitigation.\r\nThis report looks at an implant that performs downloading and in-memory loading and execution of a DLL from a\r\nhardcoded url.\r\nFor a downloadable copy of IOCs, see MAR-10271944-2.v1.stix.\r\nSubmitted Files (1)\r\n606c6000f36dc69fefc6df828e1ac9c5529a71a62b99f5df55463606c4c9689c (mega.exe.exe)\r\nIPs (1)\r\n193.56.28.103\r\nFindings\r\n606c6000f36dc69fefc6df828e1ac9c5529a71a62b99f5df55463606c4c9689c\r\nTags\r\ndownloadertrojan\r\nDetails\r\nName mega.exe.exe\r\nSize 83968 bytes\r\nType PE32 executable (GUI) Intel 80386, for MS Windows\r\nMD5 2d92116440edef4190279a043af6794b\r\nSHA1 eb2eb432445b3dcf6483e7d5f670acb94a8bab70\r\nhttps://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/analysis-reports/ar20-045e\r\nPage 1 of 4\n\nSHA256 606c6000f36dc69fefc6df828e1ac9c5529a71a62b99f5df55463606c4c9689c\r\nSHA512 ef849cb69d785bdcef98127abed65e0acc749f9748753d04105818e68ec5e37e068f8c4a7146b5238c5a6bf75712b198935c356b0fe0bb08\r\nssdeep 1536:FNtzOnGK/pmGC4ISgyCOkaPeFAuf+jXQ1JsWODjgncdw1DCaAqGgo:FNqpmGC7S1rJPQAFXKqDjgWwBCaAq3o\r\nEntropy 6.334481\r\nAntivirus\r\nAvira HEUR/AGEN.1031247\r\nByteHero Trojan.Win32.Heur.098\r\nSymantec Heur.AdvML.B\r\nYARA Rules\r\nNo matches found.\r\nssdeep Matches\r\nNo matches found.\r\nPE Metadata\r\nCompile Date 2019-06-14 05:41:48-04:00\r\nImport Hash 8079a02c54cad285e36d60589737d1e3\r\nPE Sections\r\nMD5 Name Raw Size Entropy\r\n33371b670b629e6e418f34546c9b5eda header 1024 2.672349\r\nd7c48cf554eae1f467a10903d05d84fc .text 51712 6.635530\r\n4b19a4f766cd6f95bd6b36fab052c916 .rdata 24064 4.908608\r\n9ccfa1efb02e96faf15883c5d135e6f9 .data 2560 1.986341\r\nc970c10a1e848ee974b87923ecbe6a2f .rsrc 512 4.706155\r\n51b1d3e64f81f0cc54f348474457a1d4 .reloc 4096 6.403055\r\nPackers/Compilers/Cryptors\r\nRelationships\r\n606c6000f3... Connected_To 193.56.28.103\r\nDescription\r\nThe sample is a downloader/loader that performs the following steps:\r\nDownloads the hardcoded URL hxxp[:]//193[.]56[.]28[.]103:88/xampp/thinkmeter[.]dll into memory using the user-agent\r\nstring: \"Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; MSIE 9.0; Windows NT 6.1; Trident/5.0)\".\r\nLoads the .dll into its own address space manually (fully in memory).\r\nCalls the .dll’s entry-point.\r\n193.56.28.103\r\nTags\r\nhttps://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/analysis-reports/ar20-045e\r\nPage 2 of 4\n\ncommand-and-control\r\nURLs\r\n193.56.28.103:88/xampp/thinkmeter.dll\r\nPorts\r\n88 TCP\r\nRelationships\r\n193.56.28.103 Connected_From 606c6000f36dc69fefc6df828e1ac9c5529a71a62b99f5df55463606c4c9689c\r\nRelationship Summary\r\n606c6000f3... Connected_To 193.56.28.103\r\n193.56.28.103 Connected_From 606c6000f36dc69fefc6df828e1ac9c5529a71a62b99f5df55463606c4c9689c\r\nRecommendations\r\nCISA recommends that users and administrators consider using the following best practices to strengthen the security\r\nposture of their organization's systems. Any configuration changes should be reviewed by system owners and administrators\r\nprior to implementation to avoid unwanted impacts.\r\nMaintain up-to-date antivirus signatures and engines.\r\nKeep operating system patches up-to-date.\r\nDisable File and Printer sharing services. If these services are required, use strong passwords or Active Directory\r\nauthentication.\r\nRestrict users' ability (permissions) to install and run unwanted software applications. Do not add users to the local\r\nadministrators group unless required.\r\nEnforce a strong password policy and implement regular password changes.\r\nExercise caution when opening e-mail attachments even if the attachment is expected and the sender appears to be\r\nknown.\r\nEnable a personal firewall on agency workstations, configured to deny unsolicited connection requests.\r\nDisable unnecessary services on agency workstations and servers.\r\nScan for and remove suspicious e-mail attachments; ensure the scanned attachment is its \"true file type\" (i.e., the\r\nextension matches the file header).\r\nMonitor users' web browsing habits; restrict access to sites with unfavorable content.\r\nExercise caution when using removable media (e.g., USB thumb drives, external drives, CDs, etc.).\r\nScan all software downloaded from the Internet prior to executing.\r\nMaintain situational awareness of the latest threats and implement appropriate Access Control Lists (ACLs).\r\nAdditional information on malware incident prevention and handling can be found in National Institute of Standards and\r\nTechnology (NIST) Special Publication 800-83, \"Guide to Malware Incident Prevention \u0026 Handling for Desktops and\r\nLaptops\".\r\nContact Information\r\nDocument FAQ\r\nWhat is a MIFR? A Malware Initial Findings Report (MIFR) is intended to provide organizations with malware analysis in\r\na timely manner. In most instances this report will provide initial indicators for computer and network defense. To request\r\nadditional analysis, please contact CISA and provide information regarding the level of desired analysis.\r\nWhat is a MAR? A Malware Analysis Report (MAR) is intended to provide organizations with more detailed malware\r\nanalysis acquired via manual reverse engineering. To request additional analysis, please contact CISA and provide\r\ninformation regarding the level of desired analysis.\r\nCan I edit this document? This document is not to be edited in any way by recipients. All comments or questions related to\r\nthis document should be directed to the CISA at 1-844-Say-CISA or contact@mail.cisa.dhs.gov .\r\nCan I submit malware to CISA? Malware samples can be submitted via three methods:\r\nhttps://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/analysis-reports/ar20-045e\r\nPage 3 of 4\n\nWeb: https://malware.us-cert.gov\r\nE-Mail: submit@malware.us-cert.gov\r\nFTP: ftp.malware.us-cert.gov (anonymous)\r\nCISA encourages you to report any suspicious activity, including cybersecurity incidents, possible malicious code, software\r\nvulnerabilities, and phishing-related scams. Reporting forms can be found on CISA's homepage at www.us-cert.gov.\r\nSource: https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/analysis-reports/ar20-045e\r\nhttps://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/analysis-reports/ar20-045e\r\nPage 4 of 4",
	"extraction_quality": 1,
	"language": "EN",
	"sources": [
		"ETDA",
		"Malpedia"
	],
	"origins": [
		"web"
	],
	"references": [
		"https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/analysis-reports/ar20-045e"
	],
	"report_names": [
		"ar20-045e"
	],
	"threat_actors": [
		{
			"id": "34eea331-d052-4096-ae03-a22f1d090bd4",
			"created_at": "2025-08-07T02:03:25.073494Z",
			"updated_at": "2026-04-10T02:00:03.709243Z",
			"deleted_at": null,
			"main_name": "NICKEL ACADEMY",
			"aliases": [
				"ATK3 ",
				"Black Artemis ",
				"COVELLITE ",
				"CTG-2460 ",
				"Citrine Sleet ",
				"Diamond Sleet ",
				"Guardians of Peace",
				"HIDDEN COBRA ",
				"High Anonymous",
				"Labyrinth Chollima ",
				"Lazarus Group ",
				"NNPT Group",
				"New Romanic Cyber Army Team",
				"Temp.Hermit ",
				"UNC577 ",
				"Who Am I?",
				"Whois Team",
				"ZINC "
			],
			"source_name": "Secureworks:NICKEL ACADEMY",
			"tools": [
				"Destover",
				"KorHigh",
				"Volgmer"
			],
			"source_id": "Secureworks",
			"reports": null
		},
		{
			"id": "732597b1-40a8-474c-88cc-eb8a421c29f1",
			"created_at": "2025-08-07T02:03:25.087732Z",
			"updated_at": "2026-04-10T02:00:03.776007Z",
			"deleted_at": null,
			"main_name": "NICKEL GLADSTONE",
			"aliases": [
				"APT38 ",
				"ATK 117 ",
				"Alluring Pisces ",
				"Black Alicanto ",
				"Bluenoroff ",
				"CTG-6459 ",
				"Citrine Sleet ",
				"HIDDEN COBRA ",
				"Lazarus Group",
				"Sapphire Sleet ",
				"Selective Pisces ",
				"Stardust Chollima ",
				"T-APT-15 ",
				"TA444 ",
				"TAG-71 "
			],
			"source_name": "Secureworks:NICKEL GLADSTONE",
			"tools": [
				"AlphaNC",
				"Bankshot",
				"CCGC_Proxy",
				"Ratankba",
				"RustBucket",
				"SUGARLOADER",
				"SwiftLoader",
				"Wcry"
			],
			"source_id": "Secureworks",
			"reports": null
		},
		{
			"id": "a2b92056-9378-4749-926b-7e10c4500dac",
			"created_at": "2023-01-06T13:46:38.430595Z",
			"updated_at": "2026-04-10T02:00:02.971571Z",
			"deleted_at": null,
			"main_name": "Lazarus Group",
			"aliases": [
				"Operation DarkSeoul",
				"Bureau 121",
				"Group 77",
				"APT38",
				"NICKEL GLADSTONE",
				"G0082",
				"COPERNICIUM",
				"Moonstone Sleet",
				"Operation GhostSecret",
				"APT 38",
				"Appleworm",
				"Unit 121",
				"ATK3",
				"G0032",
				"ATK117",
				"NewRomanic Cyber Army Team",
				"Nickel Academy",
				"Sapphire Sleet",
				"Lazarus group",
				"Hastati Group",
				"Subgroup: Bluenoroff",
				"Operation Troy",
				"Black Artemis",
				"Dark Seoul",
				"Andariel",
				"Labyrinth Chollima",
				"Operation AppleJeus",
				"COVELLITE",
				"Citrine Sleet",
				"DEV-0139",
				"DEV-1222",
				"Hidden Cobra",
				"Bluenoroff",
				"Stardust Chollima",
				"Whois Hacking Team",
				"Diamond Sleet",
				"TA404",
				"BeagleBoyz",
				"APT-C-26"
			],
			"source_name": "MISPGALAXY:Lazarus Group",
			"tools": [],
			"source_id": "MISPGALAXY",
			"reports": null
		},
		{
			"id": "32a223a8-3c79-4146-87c5-8557d38662ae",
			"created_at": "2022-10-25T15:50:23.703698Z",
			"updated_at": "2026-04-10T02:00:05.261989Z",
			"deleted_at": null,
			"main_name": "Lazarus Group",
			"aliases": [
				"Lazarus Group",
				"Labyrinth Chollima",
				"HIDDEN COBRA",
				"Guardians of Peace",
				"NICKEL ACADEMY",
				"Diamond Sleet"
			],
			"source_name": "MITRE:Lazarus Group",
			"tools": [
				"RawDisk",
				"Proxysvc",
				"BADCALL",
				"FALLCHILL",
				"WannaCry",
				"MagicRAT",
				"HOPLIGHT",
				"TYPEFRAME",
				"Dtrack",
				"HotCroissant",
				"HARDRAIN",
				"Dacls",
				"KEYMARBLE",
				"TAINTEDSCRIBE",
				"AuditCred",
				"netsh",
				"ECCENTRICBANDWAGON",
				"AppleJeus",
				"BLINDINGCAN",
				"ThreatNeedle",
				"Volgmer",
				"Cryptoistic",
				"RATANKBA",
				"Bankshot"
			],
			"source_id": "MITRE",
			"reports": null
		},
		{
			"id": "f32df445-9fb4-4234-99e0-3561f6498e4e",
			"created_at": "2022-10-25T16:07:23.756373Z",
			"updated_at": "2026-04-10T02:00:04.739611Z",
			"deleted_at": null,
			"main_name": "Lazarus Group",
			"aliases": [
				"APT-C-26",
				"ATK 3",
				"Appleworm",
				"Citrine Sleet",
				"DEV-0139",
				"Diamond Sleet",
				"G0032",
				"Gleaming Pisces",
				"Gods Apostles",
				"Gods Disciples",
				"Group 77",
				"Guardians of Peace",
				"Hastati Group",
				"Hidden Cobra",
				"ITG03",
				"Jade Sleet",
				"Labyrinth Chollima",
				"Lazarus Group",
				"NewRomanic Cyber Army Team",
				"Operation 99",
				"Operation AppleJeus",
				"Operation AppleJeus sequel",
				"Operation Blockbuster: Breach of Sony Pictures Entertainment",
				"Operation CryptoCore",
				"Operation Dream Job",
				"Operation Dream Magic",
				"Operation Flame",
				"Operation GhostSecret",
				"Operation In(ter)caption",
				"Operation LolZarus",
				"Operation Marstech Mayhem",
				"Operation No Pineapple!",
				"Operation North Star",
				"Operation Phantom Circuit",
				"Operation Sharpshooter",
				"Operation SyncHole",
				"Operation Ten Days of Rain / DarkSeoul",
				"Operation Troy",
				"SectorA01",
				"Slow Pisces",
				"TA404",
				"TraderTraitor",
				"UNC2970",
				"UNC4034",
				"UNC4736",
				"UNC4899",
				"UNC577",
				"Whois Hacking Team"
			],
			"source_name": "ETDA:Lazarus Group",
			"tools": [
				"3CX Backdoor",
				"3Rat Client",
				"3proxy",
				"AIRDRY",
				"ARTFULPIE",
				"ATMDtrack",
				"AlphaNC",
				"Alreay",
				"Andaratm",
				"AngryRebel",
				"AppleJeus",
				"Aryan",
				"AuditCred",
				"BADCALL",
				"BISTROMATH",
				"BLINDINGCAN",
				"BTC Changer",
				"BUFFETLINE",
				"BanSwift",
				"Bankshot",
				"Bitrep",
				"Bitsran",
				"BlindToad",
				"Bookcode",
				"BootWreck",
				"BottomLoader",
				"Brambul",
				"BravoNC",
				"Breut",
				"COLDCAT",
				"COPPERHEDGE",
				"CROWDEDFLOUNDER",
				"Castov",
				"CheeseTray",
				"CleanToad",
				"ClientTraficForwarder",
				"CollectionRAT",
				"Concealment Troy",
				"Contopee",
				"CookieTime",
				"Cyruslish",
				"DAVESHELL",
				"DBLL Dropper",
				"DLRAT",
				"DRATzarus",
				"DRATzarus RAT",
				"Dacls",
				"Dacls RAT",
				"DarkComet",
				"DarkKomet",
				"DeltaCharlie",
				"DeltaNC",
				"Dembr",
				"Destover",
				"DoublePulsar",
				"Dozer",
				"Dtrack",
				"Duuzer",
				"DyePack",
				"ECCENTRICBANDWAGON",
				"ELECTRICFISH",
				"Escad",
				"EternalBlue",
				"FALLCHILL",
				"FYNLOS",
				"FallChill RAT",
				"Farfli",
				"Fimlis",
				"FoggyBrass",
				"FudModule",
				"Fynloski",
				"Gh0st RAT",
				"Ghost RAT",
				"Gopuram",
				"HARDRAIN",
				"HIDDEN COBRA RAT/Worm",
				"HLOADER",
				"HOOKSHOT",
				"HOPLIGHT",
				"HOTCROISSANT",
				"HOTWAX",
				"HTTP Troy",
				"Hawup",
				"Hawup RAT",
				"Hermes",
				"HotCroissant",
				"HotelAlfa",
				"Hotwax",
				"HtDnDownLoader",
				"Http Dr0pper",
				"ICONICSTEALER",
				"Joanap",
				"Jokra",
				"KANDYKORN",
				"KEYMARBLE",
				"Kaos",
				"KillDisk",
				"KillMBR",
				"Koredos",
				"Krademok",
				"LIGHTSHIFT",
				"LIGHTSHOW",
				"LOLBAS",
				"LOLBins",
				"Lazarus",
				"LightlessCan",
				"Living off the Land",
				"MATA",
				"MBRkiller",
				"MagicRAT",
				"Manuscrypt",
				"Mimail",
				"Mimikatz",
				"Moudour",
				"Mydoom",
				"Mydoor",
				"Mytob",
				"NACHOCHEESE",
				"NachoCheese",
				"NestEgg",
				"NickelLoader",
				"NineRAT",
				"Novarg",
				"NukeSped",
				"OpBlockBuster",
				"PCRat",
				"PEBBLEDASH",
				"PLANKWALK",
				"POOLRAT",
				"PSLogger",
				"PhanDoor",
				"Plink",
				"PondRAT",
				"PowerBrace",
				"PowerRatankba",
				"PowerShell RAT",
				"PowerSpritz",
				"PowerTask",
				"Preft",
				"ProcDump",
				"Proxysvc",
				"PuTTY Link",
				"QUICKRIDE",
				"QUICKRIDE.POWER",
				"Quickcafe",
				"QuiteRAT",
				"R-C1",
				"ROptimizer",
				"Ratabanka",
				"RatabankaPOS",
				"Ratankba",
				"RatankbaPOS",
				"RawDisk",
				"RedShawl",
				"Rifdoor",
				"Rising Sun",
				"Romeo-CoreOne",
				"RomeoAlfa",
				"RomeoBravo",
				"RomeoCharlie",
				"RomeoCore",
				"RomeoDelta",
				"RomeoEcho",
				"RomeoFoxtrot",
				"RomeoGolf",
				"RomeoHotel",
				"RomeoMike",
				"RomeoNovember",
				"RomeoWhiskey",
				"Romeos",
				"RustBucket",
				"SHADYCAT",
				"SHARPKNOT",
				"SIGFLIP",
				"SIMPLESEA",
				"SLICKSHOES",
				"SORRYBRUTE",
				"SUDDENICON",
				"SUGARLOADER",
				"SheepRAT",
				"SierraAlfa",
				"SierraBravo",
				"SierraCharlie",
				"SierraJuliett-MikeOne",
				"SierraJuliett-MikeTwo",
				"SimpleTea",
				"SimplexTea",
				"SmallTiger",
				"Stunnel",
				"TAINTEDSCRIBE",
				"TAXHAUL",
				"TFlower",
				"TOUCHKEY",
				"TOUCHMOVE",
				"TOUCHSHIFT",
				"TOUCHSHOT",
				"TWOPENCE",
				"TYPEFRAME",
				"Tdrop",
				"Tdrop2",
				"ThreatNeedle",
				"Tiger RAT",
				"TigerRAT",
				"Trojan Manuscript",
				"Troy",
				"TroyRAT",
				"VEILEDSIGNAL",
				"VHD",
				"VHD Ransomware",
				"VIVACIOUSGIFT",
				"VSingle",
				"ValeforBeta",
				"Volgmer",
				"Vyveva",
				"W1_RAT",
				"Wana Decrypt0r",
				"WanaCry",
				"WanaCrypt",
				"WanaCrypt0r",
				"WannaCry",
				"WannaCrypt",
				"WannaCryptor",
				"WbBot",
				"Wcry",
				"Win32/KillDisk.NBB",
				"Win32/KillDisk.NBC",
				"Win32/KillDisk.NBD",
				"Win32/KillDisk.NBH",
				"Win32/KillDisk.NBI",
				"WinorDLL64",
				"Winsec",
				"WolfRAT",
				"Wormhole",
				"YamaBot",
				"Yort",
				"ZetaNile",
				"concealment_troy",
				"http_troy",
				"httpdr0pper",
				"httpdropper",
				"klovbot",
				"sRDI"
			],
			"source_id": "ETDA",
			"reports": null
		}
	],
	"ts_created_at": 1775434940,
	"ts_updated_at": 1775826777,
	"ts_creation_date": 0,
	"ts_modification_date": 0,
	"files": {
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