{
  "id": "apt38",
  "name": "APT38",
  "aliases": [
    "NICKEL GLADSTONE",
    "BeagleBoyz",
    "Bluenoroff",
    "Stardust Chollima",
    "Sapphire Sleet",
    "COPERNICIUM"
  ],
  "domain": "cyber",
  "country": "PRK",
  "category": "State-sponsored cyber threat group",
  "status": "tracked",
  "fielded": null,
  "operators": [
    "PRK"
  ],
  "summary": "APT38 is a North Korean state-sponsored threat group that specializes in financial cyber operations; it has been attributed to the Reconnaissance General Bureau. Active since at least 2014, APT38 has targeted banks, financial institutions, casinos, cryptocurrency exchanges, SWIFT system endpoints, and ATMs in at least 38 countries worldwide.",
  "specs": [
    {
      "k": "sponsor",
      "v": "North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB)",
      "src": [
        "mitre-g0082"
      ],
      "conf": "high"
    },
    {
      "k": "active_since",
      "v": 2014,
      "src": [
        "mitre-g0082"
      ],
      "conf": "medium",
      "note": "At least 2014"
    },
    {
      "k": "attack_id",
      "v": "G0082",
      "src": [
        "mitre-g0082"
      ],
      "conf": "high"
    },
    {
      "k": "targets",
      "v": "Active since at least 2014, APT38 has targeted banks, financial institutions, casinos, cryptocurrency exchanges, SWIFT system endpoints, and ATMs in at least 38 countries worldwide.",
      "src": [
        "mitre-g0082"
      ],
      "conf": "medium"
    },
    {
      "k": "techniques_count",
      "v": 115,
      "src": [
        "mitre-g0082"
      ],
      "conf": "high",
      "note": "ATT&CK v20.1"
    },
    {
      "k": "software",
      "v": "DarkComet, ECCENTRICBANDWAGON, HOPLIGHT, KillDisk, Mimikatz, Net",
      "src": [
        "mitre-g0082"
      ],
      "conf": "high",
      "note": "6 malware and tool entries linked in ATT&CK"
    }
  ],
  "payloads": [],
  "variants": [],
  "art": "cyber",
  "image": null,
  "verified": null,
  "notes": "APT38 is a North Korean state-sponsored threat group that specializes in financial cyber operations; it has been attributed to the Reconnaissance General Bureau. Active since at least 2014, APT38 has targeted banks, financial institutions, casinos, cryptocurrency exchanges, SWIFT system endpoints, and ATMs in at least 38 countries worldwide. Significant operations include the 2016 Bank of Bangladesh heist, Bancomext and Banco de Chile, along with software supply chain compromises and destructive malware attacks. North Korean group definitions are known to have significant overlap, and some security researchers report all North Korean state-sponsored cyber activity under the name Lazarus Group instead of tracking clusters or subgroups. Description adapted from MITRE ATT&CK®, © The MITRE Corporation, used under the ATT&CK Terms of Use.",
  "changelog": [
    {
      "date": "2026-11-08",
      "change": "Entry created from MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v20.1 (group G0082)"
    }
  ],
  "url": "https://www.defensepedia.com/systems/apt38.html",
  "sources": {
    "mitre-g0082": {
      "title": "APT38, Group G0082",
      "publisher": "MITRE ATT&CK",
      "url": "https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0082/",
      "published": "2026-10-09",
      "tier": 2,
      "checked": "2026-11-08"
    }
  }
}