Leaders from the Group of Seven (G7) countries plan to talk about North Korea’s increasing cybercrimes, especially its cryptocurrency thefts, at a meeting in Alberta, Canada, in June 2025. These discussions will happen in the wake of hackers’ groups allegedly from North Korea increasingly targeting Web2 and Web3 finance institutions, including banks and cryptocurrency exchanges, in 2024 and 2025.
Recent data show that North Korean hackers are stealing huge amounts of cryptocurrency, often working as a conglomerate with infrastructure and advanced computing resources to help. For example, the FBI says they stole $1.5 billion in crypto from the Bybit exchange in one attack this year.
As per reports, Chainalysis has also reported that North Korean hackers took $1.34 billion in 47 attacks in 2024, way more than the $661 million they stole in 20 attacks in 2023. They became famous after the hack of Sony Pictures in the year 2014. Since the year 2009, North Korea has built a strong team of hackers called “Lazarus Group” who use harmful software to demand crypto as ransom or steal directly from crypto companies.
North Korea is sending thousands of IT workers to countries like China and Russia, where they are using fake identities to get tech jobs. These workers, who can earn up to $300,000 a year each, send their earnings back to North Korea, raising hundreds of millions of dollars.
The U.S. Justice Department said in January 2025 that this money funds North Korea’s military and weapons programs. For example, Kraken, a crypto exchange, recently caught a North Korean hacker trying to get an engineering job. The job involved using fake identities, which demonstrates how sneaky these tactics can be.
The G7 meeting in June 2025 hasn’t finalized its topics yet, but it will likely focus on wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, plus trade disagreements between the U.S. and other G7 countries. Still, North Korea’s cybercrimes, like hacking and crypto theft, are a big worry, especially since North Korea is getting closer to Russia.
Also Read: North Korea Targets Crypto Developers with Fake U.S. Firms
