# North Korea trains young recruits for lucrative state-backed cyber operations

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/how-kim-jong-un-has-built-the-worlds-most-feared-team-of-hackers-with-skilled-youngsters-identified-early-and-trained-to-become-elite-cyber-thieves/
- Published: 2026-10-30T15:30:54+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-30T15:47:42+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16252467/How-Kim-Jong-built-worlds-feared-team-hackers-skilled-youngsters-identified-early-trained-elite-cyber-thieves.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: Asia, Cybersecurity, Geopolitics, Politics, Technology, World

## Key points

- North Korea trains young technical talent for state cyber operations.
- Its hackers allegedly targeted Binance in a $6.3 billion breach.
- Chainalysis estimates they stole $2 billion in 2025.

## Summary

North Korea has built a state-backed cyber operation that selects technically gifted young people and trains some of them for hacking and cyber warfare. The article says this programme helps the heavily sanctioned country generate foreign currency, and has renewed attention after analysts linked North Korean actors to an alleged $6.3 billion Binance hack.

Chainalysis estimates North Korean hackers stole about $2 billion in 2025, around 60 per cent of the global total and 51 per cent more than the previous year. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service estimates roughly 8,400 people are involved in North Korean cyber operations, including support staff; selected students may receive three to five years of advanced training, with some elite operatives also trained in China and Russia.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.