Unprecedented crypto thefts fueled by North Korean hackers

TechCrunch reports that illicit actors have pilfered $2.17 billion worth of cryptocurrency from heists during the first six months of the year, which is not only more than the amount stolen for the entirety of 2024 but also nearly 17% higher than the same period in 2022, which had the highest value of stolen crypto on record.

North Korean hackers' attack against leading Dubai-based crypto exchange Bybit, which led to the loss of over $1.4 billion, has driven the increase in crypto heist proceeds, according to findings from Chainalysis. Such an incident was regarded by Chainalysis to be part of North Korea's strategy in obtaining funds for its nuclear weapons program following sanctions from the West. Other income-generating techniques employed by North Korea include its fake IT worker scheme, which involve the infiltration of remote workers in tech firms for intellectual property theft and subsequent extortion.