The FBI has issued a warning that North Korean state-sponsored threat actor Kimsuky is actively targeting government agencies, academic institutions, and think tanks using spear-phishing emails that contain malicious QR codes. This technique, known as “quishing,” bypasses traditional email security by embedding QR codes instead of clickable URLs, forcing victims to use unmanaged mobile devices.
Once scanned, the QR codes redirect victims through attacker-controlled domains that collect device and location data before serving mobile-optimized phishing pages impersonating Microsoft 365, Okta, or VPN login portals. By stealing session cookies, attackers can bypass MFA and hijack cloud identities. Because the initial compromise occurs outside standard EDR and network visibility, the FBI now considers quishing a high-confidence, MFA-resilient identity intrusion vector. Kimsuky has used this approach in recent espionage campaigns and has been active since at least 2012.
Chris Pierson, Founder and CEO, BlackCloak had this to say:
“Quishing is a reminder that attackers are deliberately shifting the point of compromise away from corporate infrastructure and onto personal, unmanaged devices where security controls are weakest. When executives or staff scan a QR code on their phone, they are often stepping completely outside the organization’s detection and response capabilities. That makes identity theft and session hijacking far more likely, even in environments with MFA enabled. Organizations need to treat mobile devices and digital behavior as part of the attack surface, not an edge case. Executive protection strategies must account for how attackers blend convenience, trust, and mobile workflows to bypass traditional defenses.”
Will Baxter, Field CISO, Team Cymru follows with this:
“Kimsuky’s use of quishing highlights a broader shift among nation-state actors toward identity-centric intrusion rather than malware-heavy attack chains. QR-based phishing evades traditional email controls while allowing attackers to profile the victim’s device and environment before delivering tailored lures. When session cookies or cloud tokens are stolen, MFA can be bypassed entirely, turning identities into reusable assets for follow-on espionage. This is why defenders need visibility beyond the network edge—correlating external threat intelligence with identity telemetry to spot infrastructure reuse and disrupt these campaigns earlier in the kill chain.”
If you want to learn more about Quishing and how to protect yourself, this link from Cloudflare can help you. This is handy information as this is clearly a popular means of attack from threat actors.
2026 Year of Quantum Security & WH Executive Order Commentary From Forward Edge AI
Posted in Commentary with tags Forward Edge AI on January 10, 2026 by itnerdAs quantum cybersecurity gains global traction, The Quantum Insider has declared 2026 the [Year of Quantum Security], a year-long global effort backed by the FBI and NIST, launching January 12th in Washington, D.C. The program will align policy, security practices, and coordination across the quantum ecosystem, focusing on post-quantum cryptography (PQC), quantum resilience, and IP protection.
Closely related, the White House is expected to release critical executive action mandates on quantum and post-quantum cybersecurity within the next two weeks. These actions will build directly on work already underway in the government.
Forward Edge-AI’s Isidore Quantum® system, co-developed with the U.S. government and backed by Microsoft and Lumen, is CNSA 2.0–compliant, FIPS 140-3 certified, and has been tested by every U.S. military branch. The company has already completed 32 government and commercial pilot programs that confirm scalability across defense, telecom, and critical infrastructure, proving post-quantum migration is operationally feasible now.
Lt. Gen. Ross Coffman (U.S. Army, Ret.), President of Forward Edge-AI, states:
“It’s about time we woke up. The IC community identified this threat years ago. For the FBI and NIST to get behind the Year of Quantum Security, it means they are putting the full power of the purse and policy behind protecting the US against clear and present danger. This is a huge step for cybersecurity in a post quantum world. It affects every vertical – not just the military. It’s cliche to say that everyone from Main St. to Wall St. needs PQC protection but it affects your grandma’s ATM.”
“Other countries in Asia have sped up post-quantum cybersecurity adoption because they live next door to the largest cybersecurity threat. They know it will take a year to implement.
The government began the post-quantum migration years ago, and we’ve proven that path works, across land, air, sea, and space,” said Coffman, “We weren’t waiting for NIST timelines. Our plug and play hardware is deployed now, giving agencies a practical path to compliance.”
This will be interesting to see how this plays out as cybersecurity hasn’t been a top of mind item with this administration.
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