North Korean hackers used Claude AI to add malicious npm dependencies to legitimate-looking projects and stole crypto wallet credentials from developers who installed them

North Korea's Famous Chollima group (also called Void Dokkaebi) is using Anthropic's Claude Opus to write malicious npm packages and slip them into developer environments. ReversingLabs found the group had registered a fake Florida LLC, set up a real-looking developer firm, and used Claude to add a package called @validate-sdk/v2 as a dependency to a legitimate-looking utility SDK. When developers installed the parent package, the dependency executed code that stole their cryptocurrency wallet credentials. The campaign progressed from simple JavaScript info-stealers (5KB) to full Node.js executables (85MB) bundling Claude-generated deception code.

Check

If your organization handles cryptocurrency, treat every npm or PyPI dependency as untrusted by default - particularly utility SDKs offered by unfamiliar publishers.

Affected

Cryptocurrency companies and developers, especially those whose machines hold wallet credentials, signing keys, or CI/CD access to crypto infrastructure. Web3 startups, blockchain developers, fintech engineers. The targeting is industry-specific, but the technique (AI-generated trojan dependencies inside legitimate-looking SDKs) will be copied by other groups.

Fix

Pin npm and PyPI dependencies to specific commit SHAs and require manual review for any new dependency added to a crypto-handling project. For high-risk developers, use ephemeral build environments that don't carry wallet credentials. Block ipfs-url-validator.vercel[.]app and the @validate-sdk publisher namespace. Treat any 'utility SDK' from an unfamiliar US LLC formed in the past 12 months with extra suspicion.