The North Korean risk actor generally known as the Lazarus Group has been noticed leveraging a “web-based administrative platform” to supervise its command-and-control (C2) infrastructure, giving the adversary the flexibility to centrally supervise all points of their campaigns.
“Every C2 server hosted a web-based administrative platform, constructed with a React software and a Node.js API,” SecurityScorecard’s STRIKE staff stated in a brand new report shared with The Hacker Information. “This administrative layer was constant throughout all of the C2 servers analyzed, even because the attackers diverse their payloads and obfuscation strategies to evade detection.”
The hidden framework has been described as a complete system and a hub that enables attackers to arrange and handle exfiltrated knowledge, preserve oversight of their compromised hosts, and deal with payload supply.
The online-based admin panel has been recognized in reference to a provide chain assault marketing campaign dubbed Operation Phantom Circuit focusing on the cryptocurrency sector and builders worldwide with trojanized variations of legit software program packages that comprise backdoors.
The marketing campaign, which happened between September 2024 and January 2025, is estimated to have claimed 233 victims internationally, with most of them recognized in Brazil, France, and India. In January alone, the exercise focused 110 distinctive victims in India.
The Lazarus Group has change into one thing of a social engineering professional, luring potential targets utilizing LinkedIn as an preliminary an infection vector beneath the guise of profitable job alternatives or a joint collaboration on crypto-related tasks.
The operation’s hyperlinks to Pyongyang stem from using Astrill VPN – which has beforehand been linked to the fraudulent data know-how (IT) employee scheme – and the invention of six distinct North Korean IP addresses which were discovered initiating connections, which had been routed via Astrill VPN exit nodes and Oculus Proxy endpoints.
“The obfuscated visitors finally reached the C2 infrastructure, hosted on Stark Industries servers. These servers facilitated payload supply, sufferer administration, and knowledge exfiltration,” SecurityScorecard stated.
Additional evaluation of the admin element has revealed that it permits the risk actors to view exfiltrated knowledge from victims, in addition to search and filter of curiosity.
“By embedding obfuscated backdoors into legit software program packages, Lazarus deceived customers into executing compromised functions, enabling them to exfiltrate delicate knowledge and handle victims via command-and-control (C2) servers over port 1224,” the corporate stated.
“The marketing campaign’s infrastructure leveraged hidden React-based web-admin panels and Node.js APIs for centralized administration of stolen knowledge, affecting over 233 victims worldwide. This exfiltrated knowledge was traced again to Pyongyang, North Korea, via a layered community of Astrill VPNs and intermediate proxies.”