This report highlights the identification of over 2,400 IP addresses associated with Astrill VPN, a commercial VPN service. These IP addresses have been linked to activities attributed to North Korean fake IT workers, suggesting that threat actors from North Korea may be leveraging Astrill VPN infrastructure to mask their origin and conduct cyber operations. The use of VPNs by threat actors is a common tactic to obfuscate their real IP addresses, evade detection, and complicate attribution efforts. While the report does not specify particular vulnerabilities or exploits, it indicates a pattern of usage that can be leveraged for intelligence and defensive measures. The threat level is assessed as low, with a 50% certainty rating, reflecting moderate confidence in the association between these IPs and North Korean threat actors. No direct exploits or malware campaigns are detailed, and no specific affected products or versions are identified. The information is primarily OSINT (open-source intelligence) based, serving as an indicator of potential threat actor infrastructure rather than a direct technical vulnerability or exploit.

For European organizations, the primary impact of this threat lies in the potential for cyber espionage, reconnaissance, or other malicious activities originating from these masked IP addresses. Since the IPs are linked to North Korean fake IT workers, there is a risk that these actors could target European entities for data theft, intellectual property compromise, or disruption. The use of VPNs complicates attribution and incident response, potentially delaying mitigation efforts. However, given the low severity and lack of known exploits, the immediate risk to confidentiality, integrity, or availability is limited. Nonetheless, organizations in Europe should be aware of this infrastructure as part of their threat intelligence to enhance detection capabilities and contextualize suspicious network activity.

European organizations should integrate these identified IP addresses into their threat intelligence feeds and network monitoring tools to detect and flag suspicious connections. Implementing strict egress and ingress filtering to monitor VPN traffic, especially from known suspicious IP ranges, can help reduce exposure. Employing behavioral analytics and anomaly detection can identify unusual access patterns that may indicate threat actor activity. Additionally, organizations should enforce multi-factor authentication and least privilege principles to limit the impact of any potential compromise. Collaboration with national cybersecurity centers and sharing intelligence on these IP addresses can enhance collective defense. Since the threat is linked to VPN usage rather than a software vulnerability, patching is not applicable; instead, focus should be on detection, monitoring, and response capabilities.