North Korea’s Hijack of One of The Web’s Most Used Open Source Projects Was Likely Weeks in The Making

North Korea's cyberattack hijacked the Axios open source project in a weeks-long campaign. Here's what happened and why developers must take note.
Matilda
North Korea’s Hijack of One of The Web’s Most Used Open Source Projects Was Likely Weeks in The Making
North Korea Cyberattack on Open Source Axios Shocks Developers How State-Backed Hackers Spent Weeks Building Trust Before Striking One of the Web's Most Used Projects A North Korean cyberattack quietly unfolded over several weeks before it erupted on March 31, 2026, briefly hijacking Axios, one of the most widely used open source JavaScript libraries on the internet. The attack targeted the project's primary maintainer, compromised his computer through a social engineering lure, and pushed malicious code to millions of potential users before anyone caught on. If you use Axios in your apps or work with open source software, this story directly concerns you. What Is Axios and Why Did North Korean Hackers Target It Axios is a popular JavaScript library that developers around the world use to connect their applications to the internet. It is one of those foundational tools that sits quietly in the background of countless websites, apps, and digital services. Because of this wide reac…