G7 Cracks Down on Crypto Hacks—North Korea’s Cyber Heists in Crosshairs

World powers turn up the heat on digital asset security as North Korea’s Lazarus Group keeps cashing out. The G7’s latest move? A coordinated strike against crypto’s wild west—because apparently banks aren’t the only ones needing bailouts these days.

Crypto hacking playbook

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has established a rigorous cyber operation in recent years, often possessing sophisticated means to target and seize digital assets from vulnerable protocols.

Its offensives have gained notoriety for employing increasingly complex tactics, resulting in major losses, some of which have included Axie Infinity’s loss of $622 million or WazirX’s $230 million theft.

The discussions come as North Korea has shown deepening ties with Russia in recent years, which have included sending military aid to the former Soviet empire amid its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Those ties heighten threats "by sharing tools and expertise, complicating attribution and response efforts," Luis Lubeck, project manager at crypto cybersecurity firm Hacken, told Decrypt in December last year.

Beyond the more commonly known Lazarus Group, other threat actors are working behind the scenes, according to an analysis of the regime’s operational structure by blockchain security expert Samczsun of research-driven crypto investment firm Paradigm.

In February, crypto exchange Bybit suffered the industry’s largest hack at $1.4 billion, with North Korea’s Lazarus Group pegged as the culprit by cybersecurity firms and later confirmed by federal authorities.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair

Daily Debrief Newsletter