Research firm estimates that North Korean crypto hackers have already made off with over $2 billion this year, reckons the regime has stolen over $6 billion in total

This undated picture, released from Korean Central News Agency on January 6, 2008 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Il (C) inspects the newly built Wonsan Youth Power Station in Kangwon province in North Korea. AFP PHOTO / KCNA via KNS — (Image credit: KCNA/KNS/AFP via Getty Images)

North Korea has long been accused of being a major state sponsor of cybercrime. The isolated authoritarian regime uses hacking groups, including the infamous Lazarus Group, to target both large crypto companies and wealthy individuals, with the proceeds being used to prop up a country that, by any metric, is an economic basket case: the United Nations estimates such activity now accounts for 13% of North Korea's GDP.

An increased focus on targeting individuals with large crypto wealth has seen North Korean hackers make off with more than $2 billion so far this year alone, according to investigators at Elliptic, a research firm dedicated to identifying and stopping cybercrime (thanks, BBC). Elliptic says such individuals are "increasingly attractive targets" because they often lack "the security measures employed by businesses." Some individuals are targeted due to an association with businesses holding large amounts of cryptoassets.

Multiple rounds of mixing and cross-chain transactions.
Using obscure blockchains with limited analytics coverage.
Reducing costs by purchasing utility tokens of specific protocols.
Exploiting “refund addresses” to redirect assets to fresh wallets.
Creating and trading tokens issued directly by laundering networks.

Government building in Kim Il-sung square, Pyongan Province. — (Image credit: Eric Lafforgue & Art in All of Us via Getty)

Elliptic estimates that 2025's proceeds take the total known value of cryptoassets stolen by the regime to more than $6 billion, with the true figure likely even higher. While the big money likes of ByBit make for eye-catching stories, North Korean hackers have also been linked to over 30 other attacks, often for much smaller amounts: Such as an attack on Woo X in July that saw nine users lose a combined $14 million.

For what it's worth, the North Korean regime has previously denied any involvement in hacks. Mind you, North Korea also says that in his only round of golf ever, the late Kim Jong-il shot a round that included 11 holes-in-one and ended up 38 under par. Don't take my word: all 17 of his bodyguards verified the feat.

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Rich is a games journalist with 15 years' experience, beginning his career on Edge magazine before working for a wide range of outlets, including Ars Technica, Eurogamer, GamesRadar+, Gamespot, the Guardian, IGN, the New Statesman, Polygon, and Vice. He was the editor of Kotaku UK, the UK arm of Kotaku, for three years before joining PC Gamer. He is the author of a Brief History of Video Games, a full history of the medium, which the Midwest Book Review described as "[a] must-read for serious minded game historians and curious video game connoisseurs alike."

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