APT Down and the mystery of the burning data centers
Christopher Kunz, Sylvester
39th Chaos Communication Congress (39C3): Power Cycles · Day 3 · Saal Zero
This talk, "APT Down and the mystery of the burning data centers," delves into the intricate and alarming details of a significant cybersecurity leak concerning South Korean government and corporate infrastructure, allegedly perpetrated by a state-sponsored threat actor. Presented by journalists Christopher Kunz and Sylvester, who acted as proxies for the original, anonymous researchers from "Frack the Hacker," the presentation meticulously unpacks the contents of a dumped workstation and virtual machines belonging to a highly active, yet surprisingly sloppy, adversary dubbed "Kim." The talk not only exposes the sophisticated targeting and vast compromise of sensitive data but also reveals a startling series of physical infrastructure failures and bureaucratic missteps within South Korea, culminating in a catastrophic data center fire on the very day a parliamentary inspection was scheduled.