North Korean hackers have stolen a record $2 billion in digital assets since the beginning of 2025, according to analysts at Elliptic.
The total known damage from North Korean cybercriminals has exceeded $6 billion.
The majority of losses were due to the hack of the Bybit crypto exchange. In 2025, LND.fi, WOO X, and Seedify also suffered from attacks. Elliptic links more than 30 hacks to North Korea this year.
The current figure is nearly three times last year’s. According to UN data, these funds may be used to finance the country’s nuclear program.
Hackers Change Tactics
Instead of exploiting technical vulnerabilities, the attackers are using social engineering to deceive and manipulate individuals. Not only exchanges but also wealthy private individuals are increasingly becoming targets. They are attacked either directly or to gain access to assets of related companies.
The methods of laundering funds have also become more sophisticated. The criminals employ multiple stages of mixing, cross-chain transactions, lesser-known networks, and exploit return addresses to redirect assets to new wallets.
Experts noted that blockchain transparency allows for tracking illegal operations. Transaction analysis helps identify stolen funds and block them on exchanges, limiting hackers’ ability to cash out.
In July, the crypto industry lost $142 million due to 17 hacking attacks.
Read about the latest developments in cybersecurity over the past week in ForkLog’s digest.