Bybit Suffers $1.5B Hack: Lazarus Group Identified as Culprit

Bybit experienced a security breach resulting in a loss of more than $1 billion.

The investigation pointed to the Lazarus Group sponsored by North Korea, as the source of the attack. The forensic examination uncovered that hackers took advantage of weaknesses in Bybit’s Ethereum multi-sig wallet while conducting a transfer. They altered the contract logic to divert funds.

Blockchain expert Zach XBT presented evidence linking the Lazarus Group to the episode and was rewarded with a $50k bounty for cracking the case. Recent findings indicate a connection between this cyber intrusion and a recent breach at Phemex. It appears that the assets stolen in both incidents may have been transferred between the two breaches.

Bybit has acknowledged the security breach and reassured users that withdrawals are still functioning despite the extent of the incident’s impact on operations. The platform is collaborating with forensics experts to trace and potentially retrieve the funds that were stolen.

This incident is considered one of the largest cryptocurrency exchange breaches ever documented and contributes to the track record of prominent crypto assaults associated with the Lazarus Group.