Undisclosed strategic advisory firm in the US
January 8, 2026
•[ spearphishing, QR codes, credential theft ]
An FBI flash alert described North Korea-linked Kimsuky (APT43) using spearphishing emails that contain QR codes to lure recipients to fake questionnaires, secure-drive links, or login pages, with the goal of stealing credentials or session tokens and hijacking cloud identities. The warning said the observed targeting includes U.S. organizations involved in North Korea policy/research/analysis such as NGOs, think tanks, academic institutions, strategic advisory firms, and government entities. The alert included examples (e.g., a June 2025 conference-invite lure) and explained that QR-driven flows can bypass traditional email controls by shifting the interaction to unmanaged mobile devices.
