# Contagious Interview

> As of 2026-09-29, Contagious Interview is a North Korea-nexus threat actor tracked by Threadlinqs Intelligence across 21 threats spanning malware, supply chain, apt. Also known as Contagious Interview - G1052, WageMole, Famous Chollima, DEV#POPPER. ATT&CK coverage spans 124 techniques across 13 tactics in 21 of 21 tracked threats. Most-observed techniques: T1027 (Obfuscated Files or Information), T1082 (System Information Discovery), T1105 (Ingress Tool Transfer).

- **Nation:** North Korea
- **Tracked threats:** 21
- **Categories:** MALWARE, SUPPLY_CHAIN, APT, PHISHING
- **Also known as:** Contagious Interview - G1052, WageMole, Famous Chollima, DEV#POPPER, DeceptiveDevelopment, Gwisin Gang, PurpleBravo, TAG-121, Tenacious Pungsan, HexagonalRodent, Void Dokkaebi, BlueNoroff
- **As of:** 2026-09-29

## ATT&CK techniques observed

124 techniques observed across 21 of 21 tracked threats. Tactics: Stealth (formerly Defense Evasion) (20), Resource Development (17), Command and Control (16), Credential Access (12), Persistence (12), Collection (11).

- [T1027](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/technique/T1027) Obfuscated Files or Information — Stealth (formerly Defense Evasion) — observed in 18 of 21 tracked threats
- [T1082](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/technique/T1082) System Information Discovery — Discovery — observed in 18 of 21 tracked threats
- [T1105](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/technique/T1105) Ingress Tool Transfer — Command and Control — observed in 18 of 21 tracked threats
- [T1005](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/technique/T1005) Data from Local System — Collection — observed in 16 of 21 tracked threats
- [T1041](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/technique/T1041) Exfiltration Over C2 Channel — Exfiltration — observed in 15 of 21 tracked threats
- [T1083](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/technique/T1083) File and Directory Discovery — Discovery — observed in 15 of 21 tracked threats
- [T1140](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/technique/T1140) Deobfuscate/Decode Files or Information — Stealth (formerly Defense Evasion) — observed in 14 of 21 tracked threats
- [T1567](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/technique/T1567) Exfiltration Over Web Service — Exfiltration — observed in 14 of 21 tracked threats
- [T1204](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/technique/T1204) User Execution — Execution — observed in 13 of 21 tracked threats
- [T1059](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/technique/T1059) Command and Scripting Interpreter — Execution — observed in 12 of 21 tracked threats
- [T1566](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/technique/T1566) Phishing — Initial Access — observed in 12 of 21 tracked threats
- [T1071](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/technique/T1071) Application Layer Protocol — Command and Control — observed in 11 of 21 tracked threats
- [T1102](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/technique/T1102) Web Service — Command and Control — observed in 11 of 21 tracked threats
- [T1195](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/technique/T1195) Supply Chain Compromise — Initial Access — observed in 11 of 21 tracked threats
- [T1555](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/technique/T1555) Credentials from Password Stores — Credential Access — observed in 11 of 21 tracked threats

## Tracked threats

- [North Korea-Linked XCTDH/OmniStealer Campaign Uses Ethereum Transactions (HashHiding) for Covert C2 Signaling](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-2782) — HIGH
- [EtherHiding / Blockchain Dead Drops: Nation-State Actors Drive 440% Surge in On-Chain Malware C2](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-2547) — HIGH
- [Two Joyfill npm Beta Releases Compromised to Deliver DEV#POPPER Remote Access Trojan](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-1746) — CRITICAL
- [OTTERCOOKIE Malware Hidden in SVG Flag Images Backdoors Developers via Fake Coding Tests (Contagious Interview / REF9403)](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-1581) — HIGH
- [ViteVenom: Blockchain-C2 npm Supply Chain Malware Targets Vite Ecosystem (Sequel to ChainVeil, PolinRider Cluster)](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-1572) — HIGH
- [North Korean Contagious Interview Campaign Deploys OtterCookie via SVG Steganography to Steal Developer Credentials](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-1571) — HIGH
- [Contagious Interview (DPRK) Uses SVG Steganography to Deliver OTTERCOOKIE/BEAVERTAIL Malware (REF9403)](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-1450) — HIGH
- [North Korea-Linked Contagious Interview Actors (REF9403) Hide OtterCookie-Aligned Malware in SVG Flag Images](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-1452) — HIGH
- [PolinRider DPRK npm Supply-Chain Loader Uses Blockchain Dead Drops for C2 (BeaverTail/InvisibleFerret)](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-1215) — HIGH
- [PolinRider: North Korea-Linked Supply Chain Campaign Expands Across npm, Packagist, Go Modules, and Chrome Extensions](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-1120) — CRITICAL
- [North Korean Threat Actors Weaponize Developer Tools (VS Code, npm, GitHub) for Cross-Platform Malware Delivery — Contagious Interview / UNK_DeadDrop](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-0813) — HIGH
- [Famous Chollima (DPRK) Compromises Packagist Package roberts/leads dev Branch — tailwind.js Node.js Loader Uses TRON/Aptos/BNB Blockchain Dead-Drop C2 (EtherHiding-style)](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-0638) — HIGH
- [Void Dokkaebi (Famous Chollima) Cython-Compiled InvisibleFerret — .pyd/.so Binary Evasion of Script-Based Detections (DPRK Contagious Interview)](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-0567) — HIGH
- [DPRK npm Supply Chain Attack — terminal-logger-utils Abuses Hugging Face (Lordplay/system-releases) to Deliver Node.js SEA Keylogger/Infostealer/RAT](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-0559) — HIGH
- [PolinRider — DPRK Supply-Chain Campaign Compromises 1,951 GitHub Repos via Malicious npm Packages, VS Code tasks.json Auto-Run, and TRON/Aptos/BSC Blockchain Dead-Drop C2](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-0437) — CRITICAL
- [Void Dokkaebi (Contagious Interview / Famous Chollima) — DPRK Fake Job Interview Campaign Delivering BeaverTail, InvisibleFerret, OtterCookie & GolangGhost via Trojanized Code Repositories](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-0402) — HIGH
- [ClickFix Social Engineering Campaigns Targeting Windows and macOS via Native System Tools](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-0282) — HIGH
- [Contagious Interview: DPRK Campaign Delivers OtterCookie and FlexibleFerret Backdoors via Fake Developer Job Interviews](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-0213) — HIGH
- [Famous Chollima (DPRK) npm Supply Chain — Pastebin Text Steganography Dead-Drop Resolver, 17 Malicious Packages, Vercel C2 Infrastructure](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-0152) — HIGH
- [Contagious Interview IDE Task Hijacking — North Korean BeaverTail/PyLangGhost/GolangGhost via VS Code & Cursor Tasks, GitHub Gist Staging, Developer Targeting](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-0148) — HIGH
- [Malicious Next.js Repositories — Developer-Targeting C2 Campaign via VSCode Workspace Abuse, Job-Themed Lures, and Staged JavaScript Execution](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-0139) — CRITICAL

## Full data

Infrastructure, IOC values and detection queries (Splunk SPL / Microsoft KQL / Sigma) require the Threadlinqs MCP server (Purple tier): https://intel.threadlinqs.com/mcp

Canonical: https://intel.threadlinqs.com/actor/Contagious%20Interview