Security Expert: North Korea's "public" theft of crypto assets has become a means of its financing

ME News Report, April 12 (UTC+8), as infiltration and attacks targeting the crypto industry continue to escalate, security experts point out that the core difference between these and hackers from other countries is: crypto assets have become an important direct source of funding for that country’s military expenses. It is reported that during a recent months-long infiltration operation against Drift Protocol, North Korean hackers once again caused a shock in the industry. Experts say this model is not merely a “fund transfer tool,” but a direct “plundering profit” used to bypass international sanctions and obtain immediate hard currency funds. Security researchers note that, unlike countries like Russia and Iran, North Korea almost lacks sustainable external economic and commodity export capabilities, thus relying more on crypto theft as a core income source to support nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Experts also emphasize that North Korean hacker targets have expanded from simple phishing to exchanges, wallet services, and key permissions holders of DeFi protocols, generally employing long-term social engineering and identity disguise infiltration methods. Due to the blockchain transaction characteristic that “once confirmed, it cannot be reversed,” the crypto industry is far weaker than traditional financial systems in terms of fund freezing and recovery, making such attacks more destructive in speed and scale. Security personnel warn that this type of “long-term lurking + precise seizure” attack pattern has not yet been effectively addressed by the industry. (Source: ChainCatcher)