Andariel
Andariel (Silent Chollima / Onyx Sleet / PLUTONIUM / APT45 / Stonefly / Clasiopa / DarkSeoul / Jumpy Pisces / Nickel Hyatt / Wassonite / G0138) is a DPRK state-sponsored cyber actor attributed to the Reconnaissance General Bureau 3rd Bureau (Pyongyang and Sinuiju, per CISA AA24-207A July 2024)
active since at least 2009, formally OFAC-sanctioned in September 2019 alongside Lazarus and Bluenoroff, and upgraded to APT-grade designation by Mandiant in July 2024 as APT45.
among DPRK state actors Andariel occupies a uniquely dual-mission posture , sustained nuclear-and-military intellectual-property collection for DPRK weapons-program advancement supplemented by ransomware-as-revenue operations against US healthcare and critical infrastructure.
mission evolved across three generations from destructive South Korean operations (Ten Days of Rain 2011, DarkSeoul / Operation Troy March 2013 wiping ~32,000 systems, November 2014 Sony Pictures destructive attack under the 'Guardians of Peace' persona) through South Korean defense and ICS reconnaissance to current global espionage against US, Japanese, Indian, and South Korean defense, aerospace, nuclear, and engineering targets for IP theft directly supporting DPRK missile and nuclear programs.
the ransomware-as-state-revenue mission uniquely distinguishes Andariel, Maui ransomware against US healthcare 2021-2022 (CISA AA22-187A), SHATTEREDGLASS, and as of October 2024 operating as a Play ransomware affiliate (Palo Alto Unit 42 disclosure of Jumpy Pisces / Play collaboration, the first publicly-documented case of a DPRK state cluster integrating with a Western criminal ransomware operation)
the July 25, 2024 US DOJ indictment of named DPRK Andariel operator Rim Jong Hyok (US$10 million State Department reward) formalized US criminal attribution.
tradecraft hallmarks include heavy public-facing web-server vulnerability exploitation (Log4Shell, ManageEngine, PaperCut, ActiveMQ, Ivanti, per CISA AA24-207A), web-shell deployment, the TigerRAT / BlackRemote / Rifledoor / Andarat / DTrack / Durian implant family, and steganographic BMP-image RAT delivery (Malwarebytes April 2021).