North Korea as a cybersecurity scapegoat?

The normalization of North Korea as the go-to cyber scapegoat distorts threat perception, enables deception, and ultimately increases risks.

North Korea has transformed into the perfect “Hollywood” cyber villain. From ransomware outbreaks to phishing operations and crypto heists, North Korea is now cited so frequently in attribution reports and press briefings that its involvement often appears less as an empirical finding than a rhetorical reflex. But this ease of attribution—often accompanied by scant verifiable detail—carries consequences, especially for South Korea.

The normalization of North Korea as the go-to cyber scapegoat distorts threat perception, enables deception, and ultimately increases risks for those most exposed.

For state actors engaged in cyber operations, North Korea provides a convenient smokescreen. Its known activities in cybercrime—such as the Lazarus Group’s involvement in the Sony hack, the WannaCry ransomware, and cryptocurrency theft—offer a baseline of plausibility.