IBM X-Force profiles ITG16 as a North Korean government state-sponsored threat group active since at least 2012 that has traditionally targeted South Korean organizations, including diplomatic and national-security personnel, human rights groups, media, utilities, and think tanks. Its operations and targeting align with North Korean government objectives: fulfilling intelligence requirements, conducting disruptive operations against adversaries, and targeting financial institutions for illicit fundraising. Over time the group has broadened its target set to countries including South Korea, the United States, Japan, Russia, China, Germany, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and India, generally organizations tied to diplomatic or commercial activity involving the Korean peninsula or regional security. During the 2010s it expanded its victim pool to financial institutions and cryptocurrency, and in 2021 it targeted organizations and pharmaceutical companies associated with COVID-19 vaccine development.