Security experts say North Korea's "open" theft of crypto assets has become a means of financing.

According to Odaily Odaily, as the infiltration and attacks targeting the crypto industry continue to escalate, security experts point out that the core difference between these attacks and those from other countries lies in the fact that crypto assets have become an important direct source of funding for the country's military spending. According to reports, North Korean hackers have once again shaken the industry in their recent months-long infiltration operation targeting Drift Protocol. Experts say the scheme is not simply a "money transfer tool," but rather a direct "predatory profit-making" method used to circumvent international sanctions and obtain readily available hard currency. Security researchers point out that, unlike countries like Russia and Iran, North Korea lacks sustainable external economic and commodity export capabilities, thus relying more heavily on crypto theft as a core source of revenue to support its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. Experts also emphasize that North Korean hackers have expanded their targets from simple phishing attacks to those holding key permissions on exchanges, wallet services, and DeFi protocols, and commonly employ long-term social engineering and identity spoofing infiltration techniques. Because blockchain transactions are "irreversible once confirmed," the crypto industry is far weaker than the traditional financial system in terms of freezing and recovering funds, making such attacks more destructive in terms of speed and scale. Security experts warn that this type of attack, characterized by "long-term infiltration + precise power grab," has not yet been effectively addressed by the industry. (CoinDesk)