“North Korea’s Lazarus Group: The Cyber Villains Leading the Phishing Charge”

Have you heard about the Lazarus Group? These North Korean state-backed hackers have been busy making headlines for their creative and sneaky tactics! Over the past year, they’ve mainly used spear phishing attacks to steal money, and South Korean cybersecurity company AhnLab reports that they were the most talked-about group in post-hack analyses.

Spear phishing is a favorite tool for shady players like Lazarus. They send fake emails that appear to be harmless — think lecture invites or job interview requests. AhnLab analysts shared insights in their Cyber Threat Trends & 2026 Security Outlook report on November 26, 2025.

The Lazarus Group is believed to be behind many notorious attacks in various sectors, particularly in crypto. They’re suspected of taking part in the massive $1.4 billion hack on Bybit on February 21, as well as the recent $30 million exploit involving Upbit last Thursday.

Protect Yourself from Spear Phishing

Spear phishing attacks are a precise form of phishing where hackers take time to gather info about their targets, pretending to be someone you trust in order to steal your personal information or compromise your systems.

To keep yourself safe, cybersecurity experts at Kaspersky recommend some simple steps: use a VPN to secure your online activities, avoid sharing too many personal details online, double-check the source of suspicious emails or messages through a different communication channel, and activate multifactor or biometric authentication whenever you can.

The Need for a ‘Multi-Layered Defense’ Against Hackers

The Lazarus Group isn’t picky; they’ve launched attacks in the crypto space, finance, IT, and defense sectors. AhnLab points out that they were the most frequently cited group in analyses between October 2024 and September 2025 — with 31 mentions!

Following close behind was another North Korean group, Kimsuky, with 27 mentions, and TA-RedAnt having 17.

AhnLab suggests that businesses need a “multi-layered defense system” to fend off attacks. This means conducting regular security audits, keeping software updated with patches, and training team members on various attack strategies.

Related: CZ’s Google account targeted by ‘government-backed’ hackers

For individual safety, AhnLab advises adopting multifactor authentication, ensuring security software is always up-to-date, avoiding unverified links and attachments, and only downloading from trusted sources.

AI is Helping Bad Actors Get Smarter

As we head into 2026, AhnLab warns that new tech like artificial intelligence will only make hackers more efficient and their attacks even trickier.