A message from Geoff White on changes you'll see to The Lazarus Heist podcast feed, which will now be called Cyber Hack, from the BBC World Service.

$1.5 billion disappears in minutes. But what follows reveals North Korea’s expanding reach — from elite hackers to soldiers on the battlefield.

The audacious attack was on the ByBit crypto exchange in February 2025. Investigators say North Korean hackers the Lazarus Group are responsible – the biggest heist in the history of crypto. With our hosts Jean Lee and Geoff White, we uncover how they pulled it off.

But as Pyongyang’s cyber army is striking targets all over the world, North Korean soldiers have also been fighting on more traditional battlegrounds – siding with Russia in its war on Ukraine. We meet the South Korean correspondent who secured a world-exclusive interview with a North Korean POW.

Does this all signify a turning point for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, as his cyber operatives pull off increasingly daring heists and his military gain real-world combat experience fighting with the Russians against Ukraine? As Kim continues to ally with Vladimir Putin — a leader whose country possesses exactly the kind of nuclear expertise North Korea has long sought – is he more dangerous than ever?

Meanwhile North Korea says it has nothing to do with the cybercrimes the Lazarus Group is accused of, saying the United States is making these allegations to try and tarnish its image.

Our story is about more than money. It’s about where it goes, what it buys, and who’s fighting in the shadows.

“Are you a North Korean hacker? Yes, I am.” Investigators say money from the Lazarus Group’s hacks is flowing into Kim Jong-un’s nuclear weapons programme. Can it be stopped?

From millions to billions: the Lazarus Group get into cryptocurrency. North Korea tries to infiltrate companies from the inside, posing as job seekers. “We had a North Korean on our payroll”. Can investigators stop them cashing out their digital loot? #LazarusHeist

It’s North Korea’s first crypto conference. Eight international tech experts decide to go but someone is watching. Their every move in Pyongyang is followed and they soon regret the trip. “I was put in handcuffs and taken to an interrogation centre.”

“He wrote me beautiful letters!” A “bromance” begins between President Trump and Kim Jong-un but how long will it last? The US president’s former security advisor, Ambassador John Bolton, reveals what happens inside the summit room when the two leaders meet face to face. Plus, the Olympic Destroyer hackers are finally unmasked – but who are they?

Hackers attack the Winter Olympics, during the opening ceremony in South Korea. Who is responsible? Fingers point to North Korea but it has joined forces with its neighbour and even sent a team. Why would they want to sabotage it? What’s going on?

"Something was collapsing inside me.” A top North Korean diplomat questions his commitment to the regime. And an adventure ends in tragedy for the American student, Otto Warmbier. We hear from the doctor who joined the mission to bring him home from Pyongyang.

A social media influencer is laundering cash for the hackers. Hushpuppi has expensive tastes and a luxury lifestyle. His paymasters? The dark web fraudster, Big Boss and the Lazarus Group cyber criminals, with alleged links to North Korea. Law enforcement is closing in.

The hackers turn to the dark web and enlist an eager new recruit. “Big Boss” is key to the ATM heist but who is he? Meanwhile, the police in India continue to investigate and make arrests.