Headline: Chainalysis Calls for Enhanced Security Measures to Combat North Korean Hacker Threats Translation: Chainalysis призывает к улучшенным мерам безопасности для борьбы с угрозами хакеров из Северной Кореи.

The cryptocurrency sector must reevaluate its security strategies to curb the unprecedented thefts conducted by North Korean hackers. In a statement to The Block, Andrew Furman, the head of national security at Chainalysis, highlighted the ineffectiveness of relying solely on international sanctions.

The expert urged companies to implement stringent employee screening measures, including mandatory video interviews, comprehensive identity verification, and geolocation monitoring. These practices would help identify North Korean IT specialists who secure jobs in blockchain projects and defense firms using fake documents, thereby gaining access to internal systems.

Furman emphasized that completely eliminating the threat is not feasible. However, coordinated efforts among exchanges, analytics firms, and law enforcement could significantly complicate matters for hackers. Rapid intelligence sharing would deprive attackers of the ability to quickly liquidate stolen assets.

The focus on preventive measures is driven by a sharp increase in the activity of the Lazarus group and other hackers linked to Pyongyang. In the first half of 2025, they stole over $2.17 billion in cryptocurrency, surpassing the total for all of 2024, according to Chainalysis.

The largest incident was the hack of the Bybit exchange, where the perpetrators siphoned off $1.5 billion in Ethereum. This was followed by a cyberattack on the South Korean platform Upbit, resulting in a loss of $37 million.

Hackers have adopted more aggressive tactics, attacking through supply chains by breaching third-party service providers. To enhance the efficiency of their attacks and create convincing «digital personas,» criminals have begun to utilize artificial intelligence.

Money laundering schemes have also become more intricate. Funds are funneled through mixers, OTC brokers, and decentralized exchanges. Hackers utilize multiple channels simultaneously, creating convoluted transaction paths to obscure their tracks.

In September, former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao warned about the threat posed by «proxy employees» from North Korea.