Higaisa
[Higaisa](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0126) is a threat group suspected to have South Korean origins. [Higaisa](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0126) has targeted government, public, and trade organizations in North Korea; however, they have also carried out attacks in China, Japan, Russia, Poland, and other nations. [Higaisa](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0126) was first disclosed in early 2019 but is assessed to have operated as early as 2009.(Citation: Malwarebytes Higaisa 2020)(Citation: Zscaler Higaisa 2020)(Citation: PTSecurity Higaisa 2020)
Properties
- stix_id
- intrusion-set--54dfec3e-6464-4f74-9d69-b7c817b7e5a3
- signal_observed_at
- 2026-09-11T17:54:59+00:00
- type
- intrusion-set
MITRE ATT&CK Techniques (28)
Adversaries may use binary padding to add junk data and change the on-disk representation of malware. This can be done without affecting the functiona
Adversaries may use compression to obfuscate their payloads or files. Compressed file formats such as ZIP, gzip, 7z, and RAR can compress and archive
Adversaries may abuse dynamic-link library files (DLLs) in order to achieve persistence, escalate privileges, and evade defenses. DLLs are libraries t
Adversaries may use [Obfuscated Files or Information](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1027) to hide artifacts of an intrusion from analysis. They
Adversaries may encrypt or encode files to obfuscate strings, bytes, and other specific patterns to impede detection. Encrypting and/or encoding file
Adversaries may steal data by exfiltrating it over an existing command and control channel. Stolen data is encoded into the normal communications chan
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code. Vulnerabilities can exist in software due to unsecure coding
Adversaries may use hidden windows to conceal malicious activity from the plain sight of users. In some cases, windows that would typically be display
Adversaries may use an internal proxy to direct command and control traffic between two or more systems in a compromised environment. Many tools exist
Adversaries may abuse various implementations of JavaScript for execution. JavaScript (JS) is a platform-independent scripting language (compiled just
Adversaries may enumerate local drives, disks, and/or volumes and their attributes like total or free space and volume serial number. This can be done
An adversary may rely upon a user opening a malicious file in order to gain execution. Users may be subjected to social engineering to get them to ope
Adversaries may attempt to manipulate the name of a task or service to make it appear legitimate or benign. Tasks/services executed by the Task Schedu
Adversaries may interact with the native OS application programming interface (API) to execute behaviors. Native APIs provide a controlled means of ca
Adversaries may attempt to get information about running processes on a system. Information obtained could be used to gain an understanding of common
Adversaries may impersonate legitimate protocols or web service traffic to disguise command and control activity and thwart analysis efforts. By imper
Adversaries may achieve persistence by adding a program to a startup folder or referencing it with a Registry run key. Adding an entry to the "run key
Adversaries may abuse the Windows Task Scheduler to perform task scheduling for initial or recurring execution of malicious code. There are multiple w
Adversaries may schedule data exfiltration to be performed only at certain times of day or at certain intervals. This could be done to blend traffic p
Adversaries may send spearphishing emails with a malicious attachment in an attempt to gain access to victim systems. Spearphishing attachment is a sp
Adversaries may employ a known symmetric encryption algorithm to conceal command and control traffic rather than relying on any inherent protections p
An adversary may attempt to get detailed information about the operating system and hardware, including version, patches, hotfixes, service packs, and
Adversaries may look for details about the network configuration and settings, such as IP and/or MAC addresses, of systems they access or through info
An adversary may gather the system time and/or time zone settings from a local or remote system. The system time is set and stored by services, such a
Adversaries may abuse Visual Basic (VB) for execution. VB is a programming language created by Microsoft with interoperability with many Windows techn
Adversaries may communicate using application layer protocols associated with web traffic to avoid detection/network filtering by blending in with exi
Adversaries may abuse the Windows command shell for execution. The Windows command shell ([cmd](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0106)) is the prima
Adversaries may bypass application control and obscure execution of code by embedding scripts inside XSL files. Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) f
Software & Tools (3)
[PlugX](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0013) is a remote access tool (RAT) with modular plugins that has been used by multiple threat groups.(Cita
[certutil](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0160) is a command-line utility that can be used to obtain certificate authority information and configu
[gh0st RAT](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0032) is a remote access tool (RAT). The source code is public and it has been used by multiple groups.
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