When it comes to cybercrime, North Korea is playing a whole different game. They’re not just petty thieves; they’re high-stakes players in the crypto world. These hackers use a mix of phishing and social engineering that would make even the slickest con artists jealous. They exploit software vulnerabilities and pull off supply chain attacks like it’s a casual Tuesday. And stealing private keys? That’s just a walk in the park for them.
Take the recent Bybit hack, for example. A whopping USD 1.5 billion vanished overnight. That’s right—North Korea stole more than the GDP of some small countries. In 2022 alone, they raked in over USD 1 billion from decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. Over the past five years, they’ve lifted over USD 2 billion through multiple brazen attacks. In 2023, they focused on the DeFi ecosystem again, pocketing another USD 200 million. This surge in thefts has made North Korea responsible for approximately USD 1.34 billion in cryptocurrency thefts attributed to its state-sponsored hackers in 2024. In fact, more than 30 documented attacks have been attributed to North Korean hackers in recent years.
North Korea’s cyber heist prowess is staggering—$1.5 billion vanished in a day, funding their military and mocking global authorities.
Why? Well, it’s simple. They need the cash to fund their military programs, including those nuclear ambitions. Who needs donations when you can just hack your way to the top?
As if that’s not enough, they’ve got laundering down to a science. Using decentralized exchanges and cross-chain bridges, they make stolen funds disappear like magic. Converting Ethereum to Bitcoin? No problem. They move money through rapid transactions that make tracking nearly impossible.
Meanwhile, the international community is left scratching its head, trying to figure out how to stop them. The FBI and other agencies are on it, but let’s be real—regulating decentralized crypto is like herding cats.
North Korea isn’t just breaking laws; they’re laughing in the face of global authorities. With every hack, they’re not just funding their military; they’re sending a message: good luck catching us. It’s a twisted game, and they’re winning.
