North Korean hackers stole over $180 million in crypto during H1 2023: report

North Korea remains a big threat in cryptocurrency exploits, with hackers illegally amassing at least $180 million in the first half of this year, a South Korean national intelligence agency said.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service revealed the figure at a press briefing today, local media Asia Today reported.

Lazarus Group involved

North Korea’s hacking organization Lazarus Group is one of the most sought-after suspects for many crypto-related hacks. 

Last month, CoinsPaid, an entity associated with crypto payments processor Alphapo, said it suffered a $37 million exploit and it suspected that Lazarus Group orchestrated the attack.

Last year the US government named Lazarus as the main perpetrator behind the $600 million hack on Ronin — the blockchain used for the play-to-earn game called Axie Infinity. The group has been stealing from crypto players for some years now.

In a January 2022 report, blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis noted that Lazarus Group was also involved in a hack against the Kucoin crypto exchange in 2020 and another undisclosed exchange in 2018. The two exchange attacks alone netted Lazarus more than $500 million.