How North Korea Trains World-Class Hackers 1/ On Feb 21, crypto exchange Bybit fell victim to a $1.5 billion…

How North Korea Trains World-Class Hackers 1/ On Feb 21, crypto exchange Bybit fell victim to a $1.5 billion hack, once again bringing North Korea’s infamous hacking group, Lazarus Group, into the spotlight. Over the past few years, this mysterious organization has successfully executed multiple cyber heists, from the KuCoin exchange hack to the Ronin bridge attack and even the personal wallet breach of Defiance Capital’s founder. 2/ Despite being one of the most isolated nations in the world, how has North Korea managed to build such formidable cyber warfare capabilities? 3/ Cyber Warfare is a strategic lever in North Korea. In conventional military terms, North Korea struggles to compete with the U.S.-South Korea alliance. However, cyber warfare offers an asymmetric advantage, allowing the country to exert influence far beyond its economic and military capabilities. Recognizing this, the North Korean government initiated a state-sponsored hacker training program as early as the 1980s under the codename “Secret War.” 4/ Jang Se-yul, a North Korean defector who studied at Mirim University (now University of Automation), revealed details about this elite training process. North Korea’s intelligence agency, the Reconnaissance General Bureau, oversees cyber warfare operations, with its elite 121 Bureau leading hacking efforts. 5/ Students undergo nearly nine years of rigorous training, starting as early as 17. Their education includes programming, operating system exploitation, and malware development, with a focus on breaking into systems of adversarial nations like the U.S. and South Korea. These young recruits analyze platforms like Microsoft Windows daily and develop their own hacking tools rather than relying on existing ones. 6/ Admission to North Korea’s hacking programs is extremely competitive with a ruthless selection process. The University of Automation accepts only 100 students per class from a pool of 5,000 applicants. This system serves as a pathway to elite status, as successful hackers enjoy privileges few in North Korea can imagine. A state-sponsored hacker can earn up to $2,000 per month, double the salary of a North Korean ambassador along with luxurious housing in Pyongyang and the opportunity to relocate their families to the capital. 7/ Graduates of these programs are assigned to specialized hacking units, often embedded within foreign trade companies as cover identities. These operatives spend years learning local languages and cultures to avoid detection while executing cyber operations abroad. Some are tasked with penetrating specific national targets, ensuring deep, long-term infiltration. 8/ Unlike traditional warfare, cyber conflicts are silent but highly effective, the new battle field. Jang Se-yul believes North Korea’s hacking capabilities rival, if not surpass, those of Google or the CIA’s top cybersecurity teams. With young operatives wielding keyboards as weapons, the threat posed by North Korean cyber units extends far beyond what we can imagine.