Cashing In on Chaos: North Korea's Cybercrime Escapades
G7 Leaders to Discuss Anti-Crypto Thefts and Cyber Aggression from North Korea
The Group of Seven (G7) nations are getting ready for a chat about North Korea's burgeoning cybercrimes, specifically its daring cryptocurrency heists, at a powwow in Alberta, Canada, in June 2025. This chatter comes on the heels of a series of hack attacks in 2024 and 2025, where cyber crooks – suspected to be from North Korea – targeted major Web2 and Web3 finance institutions, including banks and cryptocurrency exchanges, causing chaos and leaving millions in digital dollars up in smoke.
These North Korean ne'er-do-wells have been making bank with their cryptocurrency thefts, sourcing top-notch infrastructure and hardware to execute their heists, bonzer-style. For instance, the FBI claims they flamed $1.5 billion in crypto from the Bybit exchange in one orgy of digital theft this year.
As the media keeps yammering, Chainalysis has reported that North Korean hackers nabbed $1.34 billion in 47 attacks in 2024, more than triple the $661 million they pinched in 27 attacks in 2023. These thieving rascals rose to infamy back in 2014 when they hacked Sony Pictures. Since then, North Korea has assembled a crack team of hackers, collectively known as "The Lazarus Group." These laddies are known for deploying hazardous software to snatch crypto as ransom or straight-up steal from crypto firms.
North Korea – famously lacking in the traditional tech sector – has been shipping IT workers to China and Russia, where they don fake identities and snag high-paying jobs. These dudes rake in as much as $300K a year, sending their hard-earned cash back to the Motherland, greasing the palms of the Korean regime with hundreds of millions of dollars.
The U.S. Justice Department dropped a bomb on the public in January 2025, explaining that this skag-loaded dough bankrolls Korea's military and weapons programs. Recently, Kraken, a crypto exchange, busted a North Korean hacker trying to nab an engineering gig. The gig involved swizzling fake identities, demonstrating just how devious these scams can be.
The G7 summit in June 2025 hasn't solidified its topics yet, but it'll likely touch on wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, trade squabbles between the U.S. and the other nations, and North Korea's cybercrimes, like hacking and cryptocurrency theft, will undoubtedly be a big, uninvited guest at the party.
Don't forget to read:
- North Korea Targets Crypto Developers with Fake U.S. Firms
- The G7 nations will discuss North Korea's cryptocurrency heists, a topic emerging from its series of hack attacks on Web2 and Web3 finance institutions in 2024 and 2025, at the upcoming powwow in June 2025.
- The Lazarus Group, known for their attacks on finance institutions, including banks and cryptocurrency exchanges, is a collective of hackers believed to be backed by North Korea.
- In 2024, North Korean hackers extracted $1.34 billion in 47 attacks, which is more than triple the $661 million they stole in 27 attacks in 2023, according to Chainalysis.
- IT workers from North Korea have been spotted in China and Russia, where they earn as much as $300K annually, a portion of which is sent back to North Korea, providing funding for the regime's military and weapons programs.
- The US Justice Department revealed in January 2025 that the proceeds from North Korean cybercrimes, such as cryptocurrency theft, are used to bankroll their military and weapons programs.
- At the G7 summit in June 2025, cybersecurity, including North Korea's hacking and cryptocurrency theft activities, is expected to be a major point of discussion alongside general-news topics like wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and trade disputes between the participating nations.
