This past weekend, hackers pilfered over $290 million in cryptocurrency from Kelp DAO, a platform that enables users to earn yields on dormant crypto investments. 

By Monday, LayerZero, one of the impacted projects, accused North Korea of orchestrating the theft. This incident marks the largest cryptocurrency heist of the year to date, following an earlier breach at the crypto exchange Drift in April that yielded approximately $285 million for the thieves.

In a post on X, LayerZero indicated that the hackers took advantage of Kelp DAO through its LayerZero bridge, which facilitates communication between different blockchains. The attackers exploited Kelp’s security setup, which did not mandate multiple verifications prior to transaction approvals. This deficiency enabled them to extract funds through deceptive transactions.

The firm mentioned “preliminary indicators” suggesting that North Korea is behind the attack, particularly referencing its crypto-targeting hacking group known as TraderTraitor. 

Kelp DAO, in turn, countered LayerZero’s accusations by shifting blame for the theft onto them instead. 

In recent years, hackers linked to Kim Jong Un’s regime have become exceedingly adept at stealing cryptocurrency. Last year alone, North Korean hackers were responsible for the theft of over $2 billion in crypto. Cumulatively, since 2017, the total cryptocurrency pilfered by North Korea is estimated to be around $6 billion.