North Korean Hackers Breach Top Russian Missile Maker in Exclusive Cyber Attack

North Korean hackers, known as ScarCruft and Lazarus, breached the computer networks of NPO Mashinostroyeniya, a major Russian missile developer, for at least five months last year. The hackers installed stealthy digital backdoors into the systems, allowing them to read email traffic, extract data, and move between networks. It is unclear if any data was taken or if the breach was related to North Korea's banned ballistic missile program. The incident highlights North Korea's willingness to target even its allies, such as Russia, in order to acquire critical technologies. NPO Mashinostroyeniya is a pioneer developer of hypersonic missiles, satellite technologies, and ballistic armaments, areas of interest to North Korea in its pursuit of an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) capable of striking the mainland United States.