![Signs show the North Korea-linked Lazarus hacking group used legitimate websites, including academic societies and media outlets in South Korea, as command-and-control hubs for malware. [Photo illustration generated by AI]](https://image.ajunews.com/content/image/2026/11/12/20261112100309193821.png)
Citing a report by Slovakia-based cybersecurity firm ESET, the U.S. state-funded broadcaster said the Lazarus Group resumed its hacking activities around June. The group used fake job offers to trick employees at defense companies into installing malicious software, in an attempt to obtain sensitive information about drone technology and manufacturing processes.
ESET said the cyber activities may be part of North Korea's broader push to strengthen its domestic drone industry, as Pyongyang appears to recognize the growing importance of drones on the battlefield amid its military support for Russia's war against Ukraine.
In one case detailed in the report, an employee at a European defense company received a password-protected file containing what appeared to be a job offer from British aerospace company BAE Systems. The PDF was designed so it could not be opened normally, prompting the employee to run a separate program included in the file to view the document. That program displayed the fake job offer while secretly installing malware on the employee's computer.
The tactic resembles Lazarus' long-running "Operation DreamJob" campaign, in which hackers pose as recruiters from well-known companies to trick employees into opening malicious files and gain access to their systems.
ESET said the hackers targeted not only manufacturers of complete drones but also suppliers of critical components, suggesting they sought to gather information about both the technology used in drones and the processes involved in making them.
However, the report did not disclose whether the hackers successfully obtained sensitive technical information, nor did it specify what data, if any, may have been stolen.
ESET also identified South Korea as an increasingly prominent target of North Korea-linked hacking groups, amid Pyongyang's growing military ties with Moscow.
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