North Korean hackers have reportedly targeted the Russian government and defense industry to gather intelligence, despite North Korea's support for Russia in its war in Ukraine. 

U.S. tech giant Microsoft made the claims in a report published on Thursday, which focused on cyber threats from East Asia, with an analysis on the cyber operations of North Korea and China. 

In the report, Microsoft’s Digital Threat Analysis Center said that the North’s cyber operations are becoming increasingly sophisticated and are mainly used to collect information on its enemy countries, such as South Korea, the U.S. and Japan. North Korean hackers are also seeking information on the military capabilities of other countries in order to strengthen their own military capabilities, as well as securing cryptocurrency funds. 

The report noted that North Korean hackers have been collecting intelligence from the Russian government and defense industry, including infiltrations of a Russian aerospace research entity and Russian diplomatic accounts in March. 

It also said that an attacker sent phishing emails to accounts belonging to Russian diplomatic government entities during the same month. 

The report said that the threat actors were taking advantage of Russia's focus on the invasion of Ukraine to harvest intelligence from compromised Russian systems.

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