Good morning, readers!

Today, we are covering news from almost all continents, but let us focus your attention on one event in particular.

You will soon read about a North Korean hacking group called ScarCruft that reportedly hacked a Russian missile company. Is it just us, or does it seem like a nod to StarCraft? After all, it's a huge esport in South Korea.

Maybe Kim is a fan of the game..?

Today’s geopolitics hotspots:

North Korea hacks its own ally

North Korea’s cyber spies pulled off a bold heist, hacking into a Russian missile maker that produces hypersonic weapons, satellites, and ballistic missiles. The breach lasted for at least five months last year and could have given Pyongyang access to valuable secrets for its own missile program.

✍🏻 Rapid Fact Check:

• Hackers: Two state-backed North Korean hacking groups, ScarCruft and Lazarus, infiltrated the systems of NPO Mashinostroyeniya, a rocket design bureau based near Moscow.

• Discovery: The hack was discovered by an IT staffer at NPO Mash, who accidentally leaked his company’s internal communications while trying to investigate the attack.

• Infiltration: The hackers installed digital backdoors that allowed them to read email traffic, jump between networks, and extract data.

• Suspicious: It is unclear what data was taken or viewed by the hackers, but North Korea announced some new upgrades to its banned ballistic missile program after the hack.

• Duration: The hackers infiltrated in late 2021 and stuck around until May 2022.

📚 Context: 

• Hypersonic weapons: These fly at speeds exceeding Mach 5 (5X the speed of sound) and are able to alter their course mid-flight. This allows them to evade most existing defense systems and deliver conventional or nuclear payloads over long ranges.

• Ballistic missiles: These also reach hypersonic velocities, but follow fixed trajectories with limited maneuverability.

• ScarCruft: It primarily focuses on targeting government entities for intelligence gathering and causing disruptions.

• Lazarus: It is believed to be behind the infamous 2014 Sony Pictures hack and 2016 Bangladesh Bank heist. Its usual targets include financial institutions, cryptocurrency exchanges, and government organizations.

Assassination attempt on Zelenskyy foiled

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has detained a Ukrainian woman who was accused of helping Russia plot an attack on President Zelenskyy during his visit to Mykolaiv.

✍🏻 Rapid Fact Check:

• Espionage: Prior to Zelenskyy's visit to Mykolaiv, the woman was allegedly collecting intelligence on his itinerary as well as the locations of electronic warfare systems and ammunition warehouses.

• Prevention: The SBU said Ukraine had become aware of the latest plot ahead of time and that additional security measures were put in place during Zelenskyy’s visit.

• Plot: The security services alleged the suspect was helping Russia prepare a “massive airstrike on the Mykolaiv region”.

• Consequence: The suspect faces up to 12 years in prison.

📚 Context: 

• Wagner: Assassination attempts against Zelenskyy have become quite common. In February 2022, it was reported that over 400 Wagner mercenaries were in Kyiv with orders to assassinate President Zelenskyy.

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