President Trump’s administration accused the North Korean government on Thursday of being behind another strain of malicious software, naming and shaming Kim Jong-un’s regime as tensions between nations appear to reach an all-time low following Tuesday’s historic summit in Singapore.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and FBI said in a joint malware analysis report (MAR) that North Korea is responsible for “TYPEFRAME,” a type of malware that allows attackers to remotely execute commands on infected computers, pegging Pyongyang as the perpetrator only two days after the first ever meeting between a sitting U.S. president and their North Korean counterpart.
“DHS and FBI are distributing this MAR to enable network defense and reduce exposure to North Korean government malicious cyber activity,” the agencies said in the report. “Users and administrators should flag activity associated with the malware, report the activity to the DHS National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) or the FBI Cyber Watch (CyWatch) and give the activity the highest priority for enhanced mitigation.”
Samples of TYPEFRAME inspected by federal cyber specialists determined that the virus is capable of forging connections between compromised computers and command-and-control servers operated by North Korean hackers, in turn allowing the attackers to install additional malware on machines after they become infected.
The report did not state how many systems have been infected with the malware or the location of the compromised computers. A similar report issued last month, meanwhile, accused the same North Korean hackers — a group called “Hidden Cobra” by the U.S. government — of compromising computer systems in 15 countries using two other type of malware allegedly used in their exploits.
The government’s latest warning came in-between comments from Mr. Trump suggesting relations between U.S. and North Korea are less strained than ever following Tuesday’s summit in Singapore.
“Meeting with Kim Jong Un was an interesting and very positive experience. North Korea has great potential for the future!” Mr. Trump tweeted Wednesday.
“We have a very good relationship with North Korea,” Mr. Trump told reporters Friday morning.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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