How crypto hacking funds isolated North Korea’s nuclear programme
Cryptocurrency theft is estimated to generate half of the country’s foreign currency income North Korea plays by its own rules. The isolated, secretive and autocratic country is largely cut off from the world’s economic system – but when it comes to generating foreign earnings it relies on some of the world’s most sophisticated hacking. Experts, such as TRM Labs, quickly attributed the…
Cryptocurrency theft is believed to be responsible for half of North Korea's foreign currency income. The isolated nation, cut off from the global economic system, turns to highly sophisticated hacking techniques to generate revenue. North Korea has been engaged in cryptocurrency theft since 2017, primarily targeting industries with relatively weak security measures.
The illicit activities provide funds for its military and nuclear weapons program, which includes a stockpile of around 50 nuclear warheads. Kim Jong-un, the country's leader, also supplies troops and weapons to Russia in its war in Ukraine.
A UN panel of experts has identified 58 suspected cyber-attacks by North Korea on cryptocurrency-related companies between 2017 and 2023, totaling $3 billion. The stolen funds are thought to account for 40% of the nation's foreign currency income. In 2023 alone, there were as many as 17 crypto hacks, with thefts valued at $750 million.
The world's largest cyber theft occurred in February 2025, when $1.5 billion was stolen from the Bybit exchange. Experts, such as TRM Labs, attribute this $6.3 billion Binance cryptocurrency theft to TraderTraitor, an elite North Korean hacking unit known as the Lazarus Group. North Korea's history of cybercrime dates back to 2017, focusing on the industry's less stringent security controls to steal money and fund its military, including its nuclear weapons program.
Despite severe restrictions on internet access for its population, North Korea recruits top mathematics and science students into hacker groups like Lazarus, operating under the Reconnaissance General Bureau spy agency.
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