Japan US joint reveals North Korean hacking operation, with 30000 devices infected and $10.71 million stolen

The Japanese National Police Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have released a report stating that the North Korean hacker group WaterPlum infected over 30000 devices in more than 100 countries and regions worldwide between December 2025 and July 2026, stealing over 7000 encrypted wallet information. The wallets under its control received at least $10.71 million in encrypted assets. The organization induces job seekers to run malicious code by impersonating encrypted companies to recruit personnel. Japanese police have seized a laptop farm in Japan that assisted North Korean IT personnel in remote work, and revealed that suspected North Korean IT personnel had applied for the bitFlyer engineer position but were not hired.