Imagine pulling off a $1.5 billion crypto heist and then playing an endless game of digital hide-and-seek with the world’s top security experts.
That’s exactly what North Korea’s infamous Lazarus Group is doing—and they’ve already cashed out at least $300 million.
These hackers aren’t amateurs—they’re operating like a 24/7 cyber crime factory.
“I imagine they have an entire room of people doing this, using automated tools and years of experience,” says Dr. Tom Robinson from crypto investigations firm Elliptic.
He adds that they barely take breaks, working in shifts to stay ahead of trackers.
The heist itself? A slick operation.
On Feb 21, Lazarus infiltrated crypto exchange ByBit, redirecting 401,000 Ethereum coins straight into their own wallets.
Since then, ByBit has been scrambling to trace and freeze the stolen funds, offering bounties for helpful intel.
So far, $40 million has been locked down, but that’s a drop in the bucket.
A Misunderstanding or A Blunder?
Crypto exchange eXch is under fire for letting $90 million slip through, while its elusive owner, Johann Roberts, insists it was all a misunderstanding.
Meanwhile, North Korea’s hackers remain untouchable, laundering digital gold to fund the regime’s ambitions.
“They don’t care about the negative impression of cyber crime,” says Dr. Dorit Dor of Check Point.
And with no extradition agreements, Lazarus Group members are practically ghosts.
Good luck catching them—unless they take a surprise vacation.
