North Korea leads global state cyberattacks

Cybersecurity Dive reports that North Korean state-backed hackers were behind the largest share of nation-state cyberattacks between April and September, according to a new Trellix threat report.

The cybersecurity firm said Pyongyang's hacking operations have become more sophisticated, using "malware-free" intrusion tactics and covert infiltration schemes that include fake remote IT jobs. Groups such as Lazarus, Andariel, and Kimsuky together accounted for 18.2% of all nation-state-aligned activity, with Lazarus alone responsible for 8.6%.

Trellix described the trend as a "significant escalation" and warned that adversaries are increasingly leveraging legitimate system tools like PowerShell and Command Prompt to evade detection. Telecommunications emerged as the top target sector, comprising 71% of all attacks, followed by technology and transportation.

Turkey was the most frequently targeted nation, followed by the U.S. The report urged organizations to adopt layered defenses, apply zero-trust principles, and strengthen collaboration between IT and threat intelligence teams to detect anomalies early.