North Korean crypto hackers have gotten so bad they forced an international warning

State-sponsored North Korean hackers threaten not only the US, Japan, and South Korea but also the broader international community and the stability of the international financial system, the three countries said in a joint statement.

"Our three governments strive together to prevent thefts, including from private industry, by the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] and to recover stolen funds with the ultimate goal of denying the DPRK illicit revenue for its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs," they said.

In December, blockchain analysis company Chainalysis reported that North Koreans stole $1.3 billion worth of crypto assets across 47 incidents in 2024 – more than double the amount stolen in 2023.

Meanwhile, the joint statement by the three countries claims that threat groups affiliated with the DPRK, including the Lazarus Group, continue to attack crypto exchanges, digital asset custodians, and individual users. Large-scale thefts, such as attacks on crypto platforms DMM Bitcoin, Upbit, Rain Management, WazirX, and Radiant Capital, have been attributed to the DPRK.

However, as stressed by Chainalysis, some of the hacks in 2023 initially attributed to North Koreans later appeared unrelated to the country.

Moreover, the US has also noticed "aggressive targeting" of the crypto industry "with well-disguised social engineering attacks that ultimately deploy malware, such as TraderTraitor, AppleJeus, and others." Similar patterns have also been observed in Japan and South Korea.

These campaigns also include North Koreans attempting to infiltrate various companies to steal their crypto funds. Therefore, the three countries advised private sector entities, particularly in blockchain and freelance work industries, to exercise extra caution when hiring new employees to mitigate the risk of inadvertently hiring DPRK hackers.

Earlier, Chainalysis also urged companies to prioritize thorough employment due diligence while maintaining robust private key hygiene.

The US, Japan, and South Korea also stressed the importance of ongoing international collaboration to reduce North Korea-related cyber threats and promised to continue working together.