The sophistication of North Korean government-backed hackers has increased significantly, now accounting for over 76% of crypto losses, totaling nearly $600 million this year alone. 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.
Ari Redbord, Global Head of Policy and Government Affairs at TRMLabs, noted that this tactic is a new development in North Korea's crypto hacking campaign, stating, 'This is no longer just a remote keyboard operation.' TRMLabs' recent report highlights the role of North Korea's primary hacking groups, DPRK and Lazarus, in 76% of all crypto losses due to hacks and exploits in 2026. The report also reveals that North Korea's cumulative crypto theft has surpassed $6 billion since 2017. Redbord observed, '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 findings coincide with the Wasabi Protocol exploit, which used a similar approach to the Drift hack on April 19, resulting in a $4.5 million loss.
In contrast, the $292 million KelpDAO breach exploited a known single-verifier flaw. The Drift exploit involved converting the stolen funds to USDC, bridging to Ethereum, and swapping into ETH, with no movement since the theft, consistent with the DPRK's patient cashout pattern.
In the KelpDAO exploit, Lazarus immediately laundered the 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, resulting in a nearly $200 million bad-debt crisis.