At the upcoming summit in Canada next month, leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) are expected to address the rising threat of cyberattacks and cryptocurrency thefts originating from North Korea, according to insiders familiar with the agenda.
While discussions are anticipated to focus predominantly on the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, Bloomberg reported on May 7 that the G7 nations are increasingly alarmed by North Korea’s sophisticated hacking operations.
The illicit digital assets stolen by these cybercriminals are considered a significant source of funding for the country’s weapons development programs, prompting urgent calls for united international efforts to counteract these activities.
Lazarus Group at the Forefront of North Korea’s Crypto Theft Surge
North Korea’s hacking operations have been marked by the activities of the infamous Lazarus Group, which has been linked to a series of high-profile cyberattacks.
Notably, the group was allegedly responsible for a staggering $1.4 billion theft from the crypto exchange Bybit in February, marking the largest crypto heist recorded to date.
In 2024 alone, actors associated with North Korea are estimated to have pilfered over $1.3 billion across 47 separate incidents, as reported by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.
Beyond direct breaches, North Korean operatives have also utilized more covert tactics, such as infiltrating cryptocurrency firms by disguising themselves as freelance developers.
This threat was underscored in January when the United States, Japan, and South Korea collectively alerted about this insider risk.
Experts highlight that these strategies are part of a broader scheme to circumvent international sanctions and funnel illicit gains into the nation’s missile development initiatives.
Canada is proud to host the @G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting in Banff, AB, May 20-22. This is an opportunity to discuss issues impacting global economic stability and growth, ahead of the 2025 G7 Leaders’ Summit in June. pic.twitter.com/ML0O3wzXS4
— Finance Canada (@FinanceCanada) May 2, 2025
The cyber landscape continues to shift. In April, members associated with the Lazarus Group reportedly set up three shell companies, including two in the United States, to distribute malware aimed at crypto developers.
Additionally, crypto exchange Kraken disclosed that it successfully thwarted an infiltration attempt by an alleged North Korean agent who had applied for a job.
The applicant failed to navigate a series of identity verification challenges implemented by Kraken’s security team.
Cybersecurity researcher Heiner Garcia further elucidated the threat by staging a mock job interview with another suspected operative, who mistakenly revealed information linking him to previous scams associated with the regime.
Crypto Thefts Soar in 2025, Losses Exceed $1.74 Billion
According to the blockchain security firm Immunefi, hackers extracted over $92.4 million from cryptocurrency projects in April 2025 alone, marking a 27.3% year-over-year increase and significantly surpassing the losses reported in March.
April witnessed 15 incidents of theft, with two major exploits accounting for a majority of the losses.
UPCX, an open-source platform, suffered a depletion of $70 million in a single cyberattack, while decentralized exchange KiloEx incurred damages of $7.5 million.
Several other projects, such as Loopscale, ZKsync, Term Labs, and Bitcoin Mission, also reported losses exceeding $1 million each.
Collectively, the first four months of 2025 have already recorded $1.74 billion in losses from cryptocurrency thefts, surpassing the total of $1.49 billion recorded throughout all of 2024.
Immunefi previously noted that the first quarter of 2025 marked the worst period for hacks in crypto history, largely attributed to significant breaches at centralized exchanges Phemex and Bybit.
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