Bybit, a major cryptocurrency exchange, has been subjected to a hacker attack that affected $1.5 billion worth of digital assets.
According to media reports, preliminary estimates show the mentioned cybercrime marked the largest heist in the history of cryptocurrency.
The hacker attack compromised the Bybit cold wallet, an offline data storage system designed to provide security. The stolen funds, mostly in ether, were quickly transferred to several wallets and liquidated through various platforms.
Ben Zhou, chief executive officer of Bybit, posted a message on the social media platform X in which he urged users to be sure that all other cold wallets are secure. Also in this context, it was separately noted that all withdrawals are normal.
Companies specializing in blockchain analysis, including Elliptic and Arkham Intelligence, traced the stolen cryptocurrency as it was moved to various accounts and swiftly offloaded. Elliptic stated that this hack far surpasses previous thefts in the relevant sector. The amount stolen in this case includes, for example, the $611 million stolen from Poly Network in 2021 and the $570 million drained from Binance in 2022.
Analysts at Elliptic linked the attack to North Korea’s Lazarus Group, a state-sponsored hacker group known for siphoning billions of dollars from the cryptocurrency industry. A characteristic feature of the group’s methodology is that it exploits security vulnerabilities to finance the North Korean regime, often using sophisticated money laundering algorithms to obscure the flow of funds.
Tom Robinson, chief scientist at Elliptic, said that the company labeled the thief’s addresses in its software, to help prevent these funds from being cashed out through any other exchange.
The breach immediately triggered a rush of withdrawal of funds from Bybit. Users were afraid of potential insolvency. Ben Zhou stated that the outflow of funds has stabilized. According to him, Bybit had secured a bridge loan from undisclosed partners to cover any unrecoverable losses and maintain operations.
It is worth noting that against the background of the active development of advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, the issue of cyber security has become significantly relevant. For example, scammers use AI tools, which is why their activities have become more sophisticated. To counteract the corresponding threat in the virtual space, personal awareness of users is important. For example, an Internet search query such as how to know if my camera is hacked will allow anyone to get information about signs of unauthorized access to the device.
