North Korean Lazarus Group Allegedly Behind $1.5 Billion Bybit Hack
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According to Arkham Intelligence, North Korean hacker group Lazarus has been identified as the culprit behind the attack on cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, which caused over $1.5 billion in losses.
Arkham cited blockchain detective ZachXBT, who provided corroborating evidence of the incident. "At 19:09 UTC, ZachXBT submitted detailed analysis documents, including test transactions, pre-mining connected wallets, as well as multiple forensic charts and timing analysis," Arkham said on the X platform. This evidence has been sent to the Bybit team to assist in the investigation.
Bybit has confirmed a serious attack on its security system, resulting in a large loss of digital assets. Co-founder and CEO Ben Zhou pledged that customer withdrawals would still be processed, even as the system assesses the damage.
Arkham also announced a reward of 50,000 ARKM (about $32,000) for anyone who can help identify those behind the hack, which is considered the largest cryptocurrency theft ever.
For now, Bybit is looking for bridge loans to stabilize its finances. In a livestream, CEO Ben Zhou said the company cannot make large Ethereum purchases at the moment.
Lazarus Group is well known for its attacks on cryptocurrency platforms. Last year, ZachXBT also pointed out that the group was involved in the hack of Japanese exchange DMM Bitcoin, which saw 4,500 BTC stolen, worth more than $300 million at the time. Evidence shows similarities between the DMM Bitcoin hack and the Bybit hack, further strengthening the suspicion of Lazarus Group’s involvement.
The case is still under investigation, and the crypto community is closely monitoring further developments.
