How North Korea Became the World's Top Crypto Thief

North Korea has been identified as the perpetrator behind the largest hacking incident in history, targeting the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, drawing global attention to its status as a leading "coin thief." The scale of North Korea's thefts has expanded annually, now accounting for the majority of worldwide cryptocurrency hacking losses. According to a report by blockchain analysis firm TRM Labs, North Korea is estimated to have stolen $12.8 billion worth of virtual assets through 100 hacking incidents since 2017. Of this, $7.4 billion was stolen this year, with the bulk coming from the $6.3 billion Binance incident on October 29, based on total theft figures before frozen funds are excluded. North Korea's hacking operations are backed by state-level organizational support and sophisticated social engineering tactics. The group behind the Binance attack, known as "TraderTraitor," was established around 2016-2017 under North Korea's intelligence agency, using tactics such as impersonating recruiters to deploy malware. North Korea's share of global cryptocurrency hacking losses has surged from 7% in 2020 to 85% this year, with hackers using algorithms to rapidly disperse stolen assets across global networks, making recovery nearly impossible.