North Korean Threat Actors Weaponize JSON Services for Stealthy Malware Campaigns
In late 2025, security researchers from NVISO identified a new supply chain attack campaign attributed to North Korean threat actors, leveraging popular JSON storage services—such as JSON Keeper, JSONsilo, and npoint.io—to covertly distribute trojanized malware payloads. The attackers embedded malicious code in legitimate-looking coding projects and lured developers, weaponizing widely used file formats and cloud APIs as their delivery mechanism. Consequently, targeted organizations experienced risks of credential theft, data exfiltration, and potential network breaches, with increased threat visibility due to attackers’ creative use of benign infrastructure as covert command and control channels. This incident highlights a broader trend: state-sponsored actors are rapidly innovating malware delivery by abusing cloud-based, trusted SaaS platforms. The use of developer-centric resources and supply chain lures expands attack surfaces and increases risk to technology-driven enterprises, intensifying the need for zero trust controls and supply chain vigilance.
Kill Chain
