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Special: The biggest heist yet

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Manage episode 500895335 series 2911254
Content provided by BBC and BBC World Service. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by BBC and BBC World Service or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

$1.5 billion disappears in minutes. But what follows reveals North Korea’s expanding reach — from elite hackers to soldiers on the battlefield.

The audacious attack was on the ByBit crypto exchange in February 2025. Investigators say North Korean hackers the Lazarus Group are responsible – the biggest heist in the history of crypto. With our hosts Jean Lee and Geoff White, we uncover how they pulled it off.

But as Pyongyang’s cyber army is striking targets all over the world, North Korean soldiers have also been fighting on more traditional battlegrounds – siding with Russia in its war on Ukraine. We meet the South Korean correspondent who secured a world-exclusive interview with a North Korean POW.

Does this all signify a turning point for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, as his cyber operatives pull off increasingly daring heists and his military gain real-world combat experience fighting with the Russians against Ukraine? As Kim continues to ally with Vladimir Putin — a leader whose country possesses exactly the kind of nuclear expertise North Korea has long sought – is he more dangerous than ever?

Meanwhile North Korea says it has nothing to do with the cybercrimes the Lazarus Group is accused of, saying the United States is making these allegations to try and tarnish its image.

Our story is about more than money. It’s about where it goes, what it buys, and who’s fighting in the shadows.

  continue reading

28 episodes

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Special: The biggest heist yet

The Lazarus Heist

1,545 subscribers

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Manage episode 500895335 series 2911254
Content provided by BBC and BBC World Service. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by BBC and BBC World Service or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

$1.5 billion disappears in minutes. But what follows reveals North Korea’s expanding reach — from elite hackers to soldiers on the battlefield.

The audacious attack was on the ByBit crypto exchange in February 2025. Investigators say North Korean hackers the Lazarus Group are responsible – the biggest heist in the history of crypto. With our hosts Jean Lee and Geoff White, we uncover how they pulled it off.

But as Pyongyang’s cyber army is striking targets all over the world, North Korean soldiers have also been fighting on more traditional battlegrounds – siding with Russia in its war on Ukraine. We meet the South Korean correspondent who secured a world-exclusive interview with a North Korean POW.

Does this all signify a turning point for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, as his cyber operatives pull off increasingly daring heists and his military gain real-world combat experience fighting with the Russians against Ukraine? As Kim continues to ally with Vladimir Putin — a leader whose country possesses exactly the kind of nuclear expertise North Korea has long sought – is he more dangerous than ever?

Meanwhile North Korea says it has nothing to do with the cybercrimes the Lazarus Group is accused of, saying the United States is making these allegations to try and tarnish its image.

Our story is about more than money. It’s about where it goes, what it buys, and who’s fighting in the shadows.

  continue reading

28 episodes

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