DPRK Fake IT Workers: Inside Their Evolving Network Infrastructure

2026-07-17 Kudelski Security

https://kudelskisecurity.com/research/dprk-fake-it-workers-inside-their-evolving-network-infrastructure

Thumbnail for DPRK Fake IT Workers: Inside Their Evolving Network Infrastructure

Stealer-log analysis exposed changes in the public and private network infrastructure supporting North Korean fake IT workers, including an apparent route through Russian exit nodes and VPN endpoints in the United States and Japan. Internal records linked operational networks to entities including the Second Economy Committee, Ryonbong, and Kim Chaek University of Technology, while revealing multiple teams and administrative systems. The operators used commercial VPNs, shared some infrastructure with offensive teams, and routed substantial DNS activity through MikroTik devices. The research also identified persistent DPRK address reuse, several team-specific IP clusters, and a newly observed but unresolved offensive-infrastructure cluster labeled PUG.

Indicators of Compromise

Type Value First Seen Last Seen
IPv4 162.253.129.2 2026-07-17 2026-07-17
IPv4 104.253.201.228 2026-07-17 2026-07-17
IPv4 104.253.160.77 2026-07-17 2026-07-17
IPv4 104.253.75.110 2026-07-17 2026-07-17
IPv4 104.253.43.239 2026-07-17 2026-07-17
IPv4 104.253.7.202 2026-07-17 2026-07-17
IPv4 175.45.176.144 2026-07-17 2026-07-17
IPv4 175.45.176.180 2026-07-17 2026-07-17
IPv4 175.45.176.160 2026-07-17 2026-07-17
IPv4 175.45.176.40 2026-07-17 2026-07-17
IPv4 91.239.130.102 2025-02-25 2026-07-17
IPv4 175.45.176.27 2023-02-02 2026-07-17
IPv4 175.45.178.222 2017-05-30 2026-07-17
IPv4 175.45.176.69 2014-08-27 2026-07-17

Related Reports

« Back