North Korean Hackers Engaged in Months of Offline Contact with Drift Employees Before Executing $285 Million Social Engineering Attack

On May 1, North Korean hackers had engaged in months of offline contact and infiltration with employees of Drift Protocol before executing one of the largest social engineering attacks in the history of the cryptocurrency industry, resulting in losses of approximately $285 million. Data from blockchain security firm TRM Labs indicates that as of 2026, North Korean hackers have accounted for 76% of all cryptocurrency hacking losses.