When you hear DPRK hackers, state-sponsored cyber operatives from North Korea who specialize in financial theft and sabotage. Also known as Lazarus Group, they are one of the most dangerous and persistent threats in the crypto world. These aren’t lone teenagers hacking for fun. They’re highly organized teams backed by a government that uses crypto theft to fund its nuclear program. Since 2017, they’ve stolen over $3 billion in digital assets — more than any other nation-state actor. And they’re still active, still evolving, and still hitting exchanges, DeFi protocols, and even individual wallets.
What makes DPRK hackers different? They don’t just break in — they plan for months. They use phishing, fake job offers, and compromised developer tools to get inside. Once in, they move fast: draining liquidity pools, exploiting smart contract bugs, or laundering funds through mixers and cross-chain bridges. Their favorite targets? Smaller exchanges with weak security, new DeFi projects with untested code, and users who reuse passwords or skip 2FA. The Lazarus Group, the primary hacking unit linked to North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau has been tied to attacks on Binance, Ronin Network, and even the Axie Infinity sidechain. They’ve even targeted crypto payroll systems at startups, stealing salaries before employees even got paid.
And it’s not just about stealing coins. DPRK hackers also plant malware to spy on traders, steal private keys from cold wallets, and manipulate market prices by leaking fake news. They’ve used fake airdrops, cloned websites, and even impersonated crypto influencers to trick users into handing over access. The crypto theft, the act of illegally acquiring digital assets through hacking, fraud, or social engineering they carry out is now a core part of North Korea’s economy — replacing traditional smuggling and arms sales. The U.S. Treasury has sanctioned dozens of crypto addresses linked to them, but they keep finding new ways in.
So what does this mean for you? If you’re holding crypto, you’re already in their crosshairs — whether you know it or not. Most attacks don’t happen because you picked a bad coin. They happen because you clicked a link, used an unverified wallet, or ignored basic security. The good news? You don’t need to be a tech expert to stay safe. Use hardware wallets. Never share your recovery phrase. Double-check URLs before logging in. And if something looks too good to be true — like a "free" token from a Twitter DM — it is.
Below, you’ll find real-world breakdowns of how these attacks happen, which exchanges got hit, and what steps you can take right now to lock down your assets. No fluff. No hype. Just what works.
DPRK hackers now use cross-chain crypto laundering to steal billions, evade detection, and fund nuclear weapons. Learn how they move funds between blockchains and why this is a global security threat.