Inside North Korea’s hacker army and the Binance heist
4.3 Security North Korea rigorously trains young elite hackers, rewarding top operatives. The group is linked to the $6.3B Binance crypto heist, though North Korea denies involvement.
North Korea has developed a sophisticated system to identify and train elite hackers, starting with the annual selection of 150–200 exceptionally talented middle school students, some as young as 11 or 12. These students receive advanced computer science education, but only a select few progress to join military cyber units, where they undergo rigorous training in areas like cryptocurrency protocols and reverse engineering. Top performers are rewarded with significant perks, including spacious apartments in Pyongyang, bonuses in hard currency, and even arranged marriages. The hacking force, estimated at around 8,400 members, has been linked by the FBI and blockchain analysis firms to the $6.3 billion theft from Binance—the largest crypto heist on record. The operation reportedly began with social engineering tactics, such as fake job interviews and malware-laden assignments. While North Korea denies involvement, defectors and experts describe the hacker program as a covert weapon, systematically cultivating the nation’s brightest youth for cyber operations.
