Bybit has confirmed a sophisticated cyberattack that led to the theft of over $1.46 billion in Ethereum, making it the largest cryptocurrency heist in history.
The attack targeted Bybit’s Ethereum multisig cold wallet, exploiting a vulnerability that manipulated the signing interface. “The transaction was masked, displaying the correct address while altering the underlying smart contract logic,” Bybit stated on X.
This allowed the attacker to gain full control of the wallet and move funds to an unknown address.
Bybit’s CEO Ben Zhou assured users that all other cold wallets remain secure and that authorities have been alerted. However, the exchange has not provided details on fund recovery.
Blockchain analytics firms Elliptic and Arkham Intelligence attributed the breach to North Korea’s Lazarus Group, a notorious cybercrime syndicate linked to multiple high-profile crypto thefts.
Independent researcher ZachXBT also connected this attack to the recent Phemex hack, raising concerns about a coordinated campaign.
In 2024 alone, Lazarus Group has stolen an estimated $1.34 billion across 47 hacks, accounting for 61% of all crypto-related thefts. Google-owned Mandiant previously warned that “cryptocurrency heists are on the rise due to the lucrative nature of their rewards and challenges in attribution.”
This incident surpasses previous record-breaking hacks and highlights the urgent need for stronger security measures in the cryptocurrency industry.
Source: TheHackerNews
About Author
