The sophistication of North Korean government-backed hackers is escalating, with these groups now accounting for over 76% of crypto losses this year, totaling nearly $600 million. A notable example is the $285 million Drift Protocol exploit, which involved an unprecedented in-person social engineering attack spanning months of face-to-face meetings between North Korean proxies and Drift employees.
According to Ari Redbord, Global Head of Policy and Government Affairs at TRMLabs, "North Korean proxies sitting across a table from protocol employees over a period of months... This is no longer just a remote keyboard operation." TRMLabs' recent report highlights how North Korea's primary hacking groups, DPRK and Lazarus, are responsible for 76% of all crypto losses due to hacks and exploits in 2026. Redbord notes, "What we are watching is not a North Korean campaign that is broader — it is one that is sharper... North Korea is moving faster and more precisely than ever." The report also reveals that North Korea's cumulative crypto theft exceeds $6 billion since 2017.
These findings coincide with the Wasabi Protocol exploit, which used a similar strategy to the Drift hack on April 19, where attackers utilized a compromised deployer key to drain $4.5 million. In contrast, the $292 million KelpDAO breach exploited a known single-verifier flaw.
The hackers behind the Drift exploit converted the stolen funds to USDC, bridged to Ethereum, and swapped them into ETH, consistent with the DPRK's patient, multi-year cashout pattern. Conversely, Lazarus immediately laundered the KelpDAO proceeds through THORChain and Umbra, using Chinese intermediaries. The Kelp DAO exploit led to DeFi's largest wipeouts, with $13 billion exiting several lending platforms, including Aave, which lost $8.54 billion in deposits over 48 hours.