Svmuu According to security experts, as North Korea's infiltration and attacks targeting the crypto industry continue to escalate, the core difference between its hackers and those with backgrounds from other countries lies in the fact that crypto assets have become a crucial direct financing source for the country to sustain its military expenditures.
It is reported that in the recent months-long infiltration operation targeting Drift Protocol, North Korean hackers have once again caused a stir in the industry. Experts indicate that this model is not merely a "fund transfer tool" but rather a direct "predatory profit-seeking" method used to bypass international sanctions and obtain immediately usable hard currency funds.
Security researchers point out that unlike countries such as Russia and Iran, North Korea has almost no sustainable external economic or commodity export capabilities. Therefore, it relies more heavily on crypto theft as a core revenue source to support its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. Experts also emphasize that North Korean hacking targets have expanded from simple phishing to include exchanges, wallet services, and key permission holders of DeFi protocols, commonly employing long-cycle social engineering and identity impersonation infiltration tactics.
Due to the "once confirmed, irreversible" nature of blockchain transactions, the crypto industry is far weaker than the traditional financial system in terms of fund freezing and recovery, making such attacks more destructive in terms of speed and scale. Security personnel warn that this "long-term lurking + precise takeover" attack model has yet to be effectively addressed by the industry. (CoinDesk)