North Korea’s missile program partly funded by crypto heists

According to various news outlets, North Korean hackers have been responsible for stealing billions of dollars in cryptocurrency over the years. These funds have allegedly been funneled into developing the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) ballistic missile program. The DPRK has trained hackers to impersonate employees and tech workers to exploit security vulnerabilities and walk away with $3 billion in cryptocurrency.

How North Korean hackers dupe people

According to The Wall Street Journal, an engineer working for a blockchain gaming company was contacted by a recruiter via LinkedIn. He was under the impression that he was offered a higher-paying job. However, the engineer unknowingly fell into a trap by North Korean hackers. They forwarded a document disguised as part of the interview process, which turned out to be a malicious code that granted the hackers access to his computer leading to the eventual theft of $600 million in crypto.