- North Korea's state-trained hackers, known for stealing from foreign banks and funding weapons programs, are now accused of robbing their own government's banks.
- A hacking ring was arrested on July 12 by North Korea's National Intelligence Agency for a scheme to steal from the Chosun Central Bank and Foreign Trade Bank.
- The ringleaders are reportedly discharged veterans from a cyber operations unit under the Reconnaissance and Intelligence General Bureau, linked to the Lazarus Group.
- The group used Chinese wireless equipment and encrypted apps to hack bank networks, moving funds in small increments to cryptocurrency wallets.