Reuters uncovers North Korea's hacker training program: brutal, survival-of-the-fittest training starting at age 11, with hackers receiving up to 30% of illicit proceeds from successful cyber operations.

According to Reuters, North Korean defectors and analysts say that over more than a decade of incentive and selection systems, North Korea has built a "world-class" hacking force regarded as one of its "secret weapons." The FBI and Binance have blamed the North Korea-linked group TraderTraitor for the theft of approximately $6.3 billion from Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, last month; Pyongyang has denied the allegation. The selection process starts as early as middle school, at ages 11 or 12, per the report. Each year, authorities select around 150 to 200 top computer-savvy students. After turning 17, the best candidates are admitted to top universities for further screening, with a small number joining military cyber units. Training includes cryptocurrency protocols, reverse engineering and other fields. Those not selected as hackers are mostly trained to remotely develop software for Western companies. Successful operations allow their units to receive up to 30% of the stolen U.S. funds, and participants may get benefits from Pyongyang such as housing or arranged marriages. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service estimated in 2024 that North Korea has roughly 8,400 personnel related to cyber warfare. Binance stated that attackers infiltrated employees’ computers through fake job interviews and adware, then used internal AI tools to seize system control.