North Korea stole over $659M in crypto heists during 2024, deploys fake job seekers

North Korea-backed hackers stole at least $659 million in a series of cryptocurrency heists in 2024, as well as deploying IT personnel to infiltrate blockchain companies as insider threats, according to Japan, South Korea and the U.S. A rare joint statement (PDF) Tuesday.

The announcement provided the first official confirmation that North Korea was behind July WazirX’s $235 million hackIndia’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The July 2024 breach forced WazirX to suspend trading and later Firm restructuring.

Other major attacks included the theft of $308 million from Japan’s DMM Bitcoin, $50 million from Upbit and Radiant Capital, and $16.13 million from Rain Management, according to the joint statement.

The Lazarus Group, a known threat group of North Korean hackers, conducted social engineering attacks and deployed malware to steal cryptocurrencies, the statement said. The businessman is a traitor To breach the exchange, North Korean IT workers posed as job candidates while infiltrating the company, according to the statement.

“The United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea advise private sector organizations, particularly in the blockchain and freelance work industries, to thoroughly review these advisories and announcements to better inform cyber threat mitigation measures and reduce the risk of employing DPRK IT personnel,” the governments said.

Earlier UN reports estimated that North Korea $3 billion in cryptocurrency stolen Funding its authorized nuclear weapons program between 2017 and 2023. Recent data from Chainalysis shows that North Korean hackers were responsible for 61% of all cryptocurrencies stolen in 2024, totaling $1.34 billion.