Threat actor
AppleJeus
Last fetched
AppleJeus is a threat actor tracked in WhisperGraph's MITRE ATT&CK corpus, observed using 2 techniques and also known as 4 other names.
Also known as
Gleaming Pisces, Citrine Sleet, UNC1720, UNC4736
Description
[AppleJeus](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G1049) is a North Korean state-sponsored threat group attributed to the Reconnaissance General Bureau. Associated with the broader [Lazarus Group](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0032) umbrella of actors, [AppleJeus](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G1049) has been active since at least 2018 and is closely aligned in resources with TEMP.hermit, another DPRK-affiliated group under the same umbrella.(Citation: dtex DPRK 2025 structure ITworkers) The group’s primary mission is to generate and launder revenue to provide financial support to the government. [AppleJeus](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G1049) primarily targets the cryptocurrency industry and is most notably responsible for the [3CX Supply Chain Attack](https://attack.mitre.org/campaigns/C0057).(Citation: Mandiant 3cx UNC4736 2023) The group traditionally deploys malicious cryptocurrency software in combination with [Phishing](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1566). From these compromised environments, it selectively deploys additional backdoors to enable extended operations against high-value financial targets.(Citation: Mandiant DPRK Groups 2023)(Citation: JPCert Blog Laz Subgroups 2025)
Techniques by tactic
Attributed infrastructure
None published. WhisperGraph carries no ATTRIBUTED_TO edge to AppleJeus today — this states the absence of a published link, not that AppleJeus has no infrastructure.
References
- https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G1049
- https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/threat-intelligence/3cx-software-supply-chain-compromise/
- https://reports.dtexsystems.com/DTEX-Exposing+DPRK+Cyber+Syndicate+and+Hidden+IT+Workforce.pdf
- https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/threat-intelligence/north-korea-cyber-structure-alignment-2023
- https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/threat-assessment-north-korean-threat-groups-2024/
- https://blogs.jpcert.or.jp/en/2025/03/classifying-lazaruss-subgroup.html
© The MITRE Corporation. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of The MITRE Corporation.
Related pages
Pivot from AppleJeus into its techniques, tactics and any attributed infrastructure.
Queries
Resolves the slug to this actor, merging every duplicate node sharing the same name.
MATCH (a:ACTOR)
WHERE a.name =~ $pattern OR any(x IN a.aliases WHERE x =~ $pattern)
RETURN a.id AS id, a.name AS name, a.aliases AS aliases, a.description AS description,
a.references AS references, a.campaigns AS campaigns
LIMIT 25Techniques this actor uses, grouped by the tactic each one serves.
MATCH (a:ACTOR {name: $name})-[:USES_TECHNIQUE]->(t:ATTACK_PATTERN)
OPTIONAL MATCH (t)-[:USES_TACTIC]->(tac:ATTACK_PATTERN)
RETURN t.id AS techniqueId, t.name AS techniqueName, tac.id AS tacticId, tac.name AS tacticName
LIMIT 1000Infrastructure publicly attributed to this actor.
MATCH (n)-[:ATTRIBUTED_TO]->(a:ACTOR {name: $name})
RETURN labels(n)[0] AS kind, n.name AS name
LIMIT 25Or query Whisper from your own LLM workflow via the Whisper MCP server.