North Korea’s Lazarus Group Behind Largest Crypto Heist in History

[encrypted]

The Lazarus Group, North Korea’s infamous state-backed hacking unit, is being blamed for the largest crypto theft on record. In February 2025, the group allegedly stole $1.5 billion in Ethereum from the Bybit exchange — a single hack that accounted for 69% of all stolen funds from services that year, according to Chainalysis.

Lazarus, also known as APT 38 or HIDDEN COBRA, has a long history of high-profile attacks, including the Sony Pictures hack in 2014 and the WannaCry ransomware outbreak in 2017. Between 2021 and 2025, the group is believed to have stolen more than $5 billion in cryptocurrency, cementing its status as one of the most dangerous cybercriminal organizations in the world.

[Rimon Khan]

A single operation netting $1.5 billion shows how far Lazarus has evolved — from targeting banks to mastering blockchain exploits. It’s not just cybercrime anymore; it’s digital statecraft executed through code.

[EmTeam]

The Bybit hack underscores the scale of modern crypto warfare — one coordinated breach by Lazarus equaled the entire annual haul of dozens of other hackers combined, proving that national cyber units now dominate the dark economy.