# Higaisa: threat group profile

> Higaisa is a threat group thought to operate from South Korea, with suspected state backing. Public reporting links it to 23 attack techniques, and to attacks on government organisations, with 8 countries and victims named. This free profile shows how it works and who it targets, so you can judge the risk to you.

Canonical page: https://www.precursorintelligence.com/threat-actors/higaisa
Breadcrumb: [Home](https://www.precursorintelligence.com/) > [Threat groups](https://www.precursorintelligence.com/threat-actors) > Higaisa

## At a glance

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Attack techniques | 23 (plus 16 sub-techniques) |
| Countries and victims named | 8 |
| Thought to operate from | South Korea |
| Suspected backing | South Korea |
| Other names | 0 |
| Public reports | 2 |

## Who is Higaisa?

Higaisa is a threat group thought to operate from South Korea, with suspected state backing. Public reporting links it to 23 attack techniques, and to attacks on government organisations, with 8 countries and victims named.

### What public reporting says

> The organization often uses important North Korean time nodes such as holidays and North Korea to conduct fishing activities. The bait includes New Year blessings, Lantern blessings, North Korean celebrations, and important news, overseas personnel contact lists and so on. In addition, the attack organization also has the attack capability of the mobile terminal. The targets of the attack also include diplomatic entities related to North Korea (such as embassy officials in various places), government officials, human rights organizations, North Korean residents abroad, and traders. The victim countries currently monitored include China, North Korea, Japan, Nepal, Singapore, Russia, Poland, Switzerland, etc.

## How does Higaisa attack? Stage by stage

Each technique is a known way attackers research, get in, stay hidden or do damage. Here are the 23 linked to Higaisa. Some techniques belong to more than one stage. Public reporting also lists 16 more specific variations of them, called sub-techniques.

### 1. Research (0)

- None linked in public reporting.

### 2. Preparation (0)

- None linked in public reporting.

### 3. Getting in (1)

- T1566: Phishing

### 4. Running code (6)

- T1053: Scheduled Task/Job
- T1059: Command and Scripting Interpreter
- T1106: Native API
- T1203: Exploitation for Client Execution
- T1204: User Execution
- T1574: Hijack Execution Flow

### 5. Staying in (2)

- T1053: Scheduled Task/Job
- T1547: Boot or Logon Autostart Execution

### 6. Taking control (2)

- T1053: Scheduled Task/Job
- T1547: Boot or Logon Autostart Execution

### 7. Hiding (6)

- T1027: Obfuscated Files or Information
- T1036: Masquerading
- T1140: Deobfuscate/Decode Files or Information
- T1220: XSL Script Processing
- T1564: Hide Artifacts
- T1574: Hijack Execution Flow

### 8. Disabling defences (0)

- None linked in public reporting.

### 9. Stealing passwords (0)

- None linked in public reporting.

### 10. Looking around (4)

- T1016: System Network Configuration Discovery
- T1057: Process Discovery
- T1082: System Information Discovery
- T1124: System Time Discovery

### 11. Spreading (0)

- None linked in public reporting.

### 12. Gathering data (0)

- None linked in public reporting.

### 13. Keeping contact (4)

- T1001: Data Obfuscation
- T1071: Application Layer Protocol
- T1090: Proxy
- T1573: Encrypted Channel

### 14. Taking data out (2)

- T1029: Scheduled Transfer
- T1041: Exfiltration Over C2 Channel

### 15. Causing damage (0)

- None linked in public reporting.

## Who does Higaisa go after?

**Sectors:** Government

**Countries and victims named:** China, North Korea, Japan, Nepal, Singapore, Russia, Poland, Switzerland

See threats by industry: https://www.precursorintelligence.com/industries

## Public reports about Higaisa

- https://s.tencent.com/research/report/836.html
- https://blog.malwarebytes.com/threat-analysis/2020/06/higaisa/

## Frequently asked questions

### Who is Higaisa?

Higaisa is a threat group thought to operate from South Korea, with suspected state backing. Public reporting links it to 23 attack techniques, and to attacks on government organisations, with 8 countries and victims named.

### Where is Higaisa thought to be based?

Public reporting places Higaisa as operating from South Korea, with suspected state backing. Attribution is never certain: it rests on the tools, infrastructure and targets researchers have seen.

### Who does Higaisa target?

In public reporting, sectors named include government, and 8 countries and victims are named, including China, North Korea, Japan and Nepal.

### How does Higaisa attack?

Public reporting links Higaisa to 23 attack techniques. Most of them are about running code, hiding and looking around.

### How do I know if Higaisa is a risk to my business?

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