Episode January 31, 2026 1 hr 7 min

BITCOIN: How North Korean Hackers Stole $300M+ Via Telegram w/ Taylor Monahan

Welcome back to The Blockspace Podcast! Today, Taylor Monahan, a security lead at MetaMask, joins us to talk about a highly sophisticated $300M phishing attack linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group. Taylor shares how the Lazarus Group hijacks Telegram accounts to lure victims into fake Zoom meetings and download a Trojan horse malware program. We break down the hackers’ strategy, how the malware works, which wallet types are most vulnerable to theft, and what users can do to protect themselves if they have fallen prey to the scam or not. Tune in to learn how to identify these red flags and implement better digital hygiene for your crypto assets.

Check out this article for a deep dive into how the malware works; plus, follow Taylor for updates on X and keep track of Lazarus Group’s history of hacks via her Github.

Notes:

* Lazarus Group stole over $300M in the last year.

* Attackers hijack Telegram accounts.

* Scammers use fake Zoom links to deploy malware.

* Malware often bypasses paid antivirus software.

* Sandbox architecture on iOS offers more safety.

* Software wallets and browser wallets are most vulnerable.

* 2FA remains critical for sensitive account access.

Timestamps:

00:00 Start

03:51 Telegram attack

11:30 2 Factor Authenticators

13:48 Losses

16:38 Calculating losses

19:08 North Korea

21:52 Malware

24:17 Malware detection

25:16 EDR

27:12 Wallets

34:21 Is verifying addresses enough?

39:28 Wallet malware design

44:11 What do they want?

54:16 Taylor stealing payloads

1:01:49 Steps to protect

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