G7 leaders are preparing to meet North Korea's cyberattacks increase and cryptocurrency robes at their upcoming summit in Alberta, Canada, which is scheduled for mid-June.
This move Come in the middle of growing global concerns Over the use of Pyongyang's use of Cybercrime to fund weapons programs.
While conversations are expected to be dominated by wars in Ukraine and Gaza, North Korean cyber activities are likely to be large on the agenda.
According to briefing sources in this regard, leaders are planning to discuss a coordinated response to the increase in threat to Pyongyang's cyber. That may be involved in strengthening international cybersecurity frameworks, blocking digital assets associated with North Korea, and cut down crypto platforms lending money with more difficult penalties.
The G7 wants to signal that the community of the world will no longer accept such an invasion of cyber. Canada will look for firmer alliances and intelligence sharing agreements as host country to fight cyber -enabled crimes.
G7 leaders sound alarm in North Korea's cyber heists
North Korea returns to the international stage. At this time, it does not launch a missile but something more stealthy-billion-dollar cyberattacks.
In February 2025, cybercriminals with North Korea's relationship stealing around $ 1.5 billion from Bybit, a large digital currency exchange in Dubai. The FBI said hackers were part of the well-known Lazarus Group, a state-sponsored hacking organization believed to be responsible for 2014 Attack by Sony.
The group quickly converted the expanded funds to Bitcoin and spread it into thousands of blockchain purses to drop the money.
This is not a one-off event. North Korea-related hackers were behind 47 major attacks during 2024, stealing a total of $ 1.34 billion in cryptocurrency, from $ 661 million in 2023, according to data from blockchain analysis firm chainalysis.
However, experts say cash does not enter private pockets but is rather used to supply regime's weapons programs. North Korea is still using digital currency to get around international penalties, allowing it to maintain the development of nuclear and missile technology.
These robbery have grown in size and complexity and alarmed powers in the world. North Korea is now a major player in Cybercrime.
North Korea operatives have slipped into international tech jobs to fund weapons programs secretly
North Korea's offensive cyber does not stop hacking. The country has built another quieter weapon – its global IT workforce.
Thousands of tech-Savvy North Koreans have been reported to be working remotely from countries such as China and Russia, which come as freelance software developers. With the wrong identities, they apply for jobs and safely pay positions, earn thousands of dollars. These revenues are then funneled back to support the North Korea regime, according to reports.
In a recent case earlier this year, Crypto Exchange Kraken discovered a sophisticated operation of a person in which a North Korean operative applied to a software engineering role under many false personas. This person has welled a complex web of false resumes and online profiles to ensure themselves in tech companies around the world.
The US Department of Justice said IT workers use advanced methods to hide their identities. They depend on pseudonymous email accounts, sham websites, proxy servers, and even accidental cutouts in the United States and elsewhere.
In a statement released in January, the Department of Justice said these workers could earn up to $ 300,000 a year. When their numbers reach ten -ten thousand, income becomes a significant stream of income for North Korea. It added that the proceeds usually go straight to the country's Ministry of Defense and other creatures involved in weapon programs.
In retaliation, the US and its allies are tightly cultivating skills around tech and crypto industries, encouraging companies to conduct more thorough verification checks to identify distant workers.
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