When you hear about a crypto exchange getting hacked for $600 million, it’s often the work of the Lazarus Group, a North Korean state-sponsored cyberwarfare unit known for large-scale financial theft and sabotage. Also known as APT38, this group doesn’t break in to steal data—they break in to steal money, and they’re very, very good at it. Unlike random scammers or script kiddies, Lazarus operates like a military unit: patient, well-funded, and focused on high-value targets. Their goal isn’t chaos—it’s cash, and they’ve stolen over $3 billion in crypto since 2017.
Their favorite targets? Centralized exchanges, crypto bridges, and DeFi protocols with weak security. They don’t need zero-day exploits. Often, they just use phishing, social engineering, or insider access to get inside. Once in, they move fast—washing funds through mixers, converting them into privacy coins, and laundering them through shell companies. They’ve hit exchanges like Ronin Network, KuCoin, and Bybit. Each attack follows a pattern: reconnaissance, infiltration, extraction, and cleanup. And they’ve done it so many times, they’ve turned crypto theft into a repeatable business model.
What makes Lazarus different isn’t just the scale—it’s the connection to a government. They’re not rogue actors. They’re funded by the North Korean regime to bypass international sanctions. Every dollar they steal helps fund their nuclear program. That’s why governments like the U.S. and South Korea have put bounties on their heads. But as long as there are poorly secured crypto platforms, they’ll keep coming. You can’t stop them with a strong password alone. You need layered security: cold storage, multi-sig wallets, and avoiding centralized platforms that don’t audit their systems regularly.
What you’ll find in this collection are deep dives into real attacks tied to Lazarus, how they exploit weaknesses in blockchain infrastructure, and what steps you can take to protect your assets. From breakdowns of the Ronin heist to how mixers like Tornado Cash got dragged into their operations, these posts give you the facts—not the hype. You’ll also see how exchanges respond after a breach, why some never recover, and how blockchain forensics is now a frontline defense. This isn’t theory. It’s what’s happening right now. And if you hold crypto, you’re already in their crosshairs.
North Korea has stolen over $3 billion in cryptocurrency since 2017 using state-backed cyberattacks to fund its weapons programs. Learn how they do it, who's behind it, and why it's still getting worse.
