North Korea's Open Carrot and Lazarus hackers infiltrated the computer networks of NPO Mashinostroyeniya, one of Russia's major missile development companies, for at least five months last year. The hackers discreetly installed stealth backdoors into the systems of NPO Mashinostroyeniya (NPO Mash), a prominent missile design bureau. Details of NPO Mash's Zircon hypersonic missile, which Russian President Vladimir Putin had praised as a promising product, are among the information potentially accessed by the North Korean hackers. 

The technical data shows that the intrusion began around the end of 2021 and continued until May 2022, when the company's IT engineers discovered the activities of the hackers.

Why is it relevant?

The breach raises worrying concerns about the potential transfer of sensitive missile technology to North Korea. In the months following the intrusion, North Korea announced significant advances in its banned ballistic missile program, which raised speculation about a possible link to the intrusion. NPO Mash is a highly valuable target due to its role as a leading Russian missile designer and manufacturer.