Bybit Hacked: North Korea's Lazarus Group Strikes Again, $1B Stolen

The world's largest crypto exchange, Bybit, has fallen victim to a massive hack, with over $1 billion stolen. Renowned blockchain investigator ZachXBT has provided concrete evidence linking the attack to the infamous North Korean state-sponsored cybercriminal group, Lazarus.

Arkham Intelligence, a blockchain data platform, had offered a bounty of 50K ARKM (about $30K) to help identify the culprits behind the hack. ZachXBT took on the challenge and uncovered the truth through his deep on-chain analysis. He provided solid proof that the Lazarus Group carried out the attack, including test transactions, wallet links before the hack, forensic charts, and timing breakdowns.

ZachXBT's investigation revealed that Lazarus first made small test transactions before launching the full attack, a common technique used by hackers to ensure their methods will work before moving large sums. He then carefully tracked wallet movements and transaction timestamps to trace the stolen funds back to addresses controlled by the Lazarus group.

Arkham Intelligence confirmed that ZachXBT has shared his findings with Bybit's team to assist in their investigation. While Bybit has yet to release a detailed statement, this new evidence could help them take action to recover lost funds or strengthen their security measures.

This finding from ZachXBT sheds light on how the attack was carried out. Lazarus is known for targeting crypto firms and has been behind several major crypto thefts, making it a main suspect from the start. The group is not a single team but consists of several groups with different skills, some focusing on phishing scams, others carrying out complex blockchain attacks, and some using fake identities to trick crypto companies. In 2024 alone, the group managed to steal over $1.3 billion from different projects, making up 61% of all stolen crypto.