Last month, the finance world was shaken by the biggest crypto heist ever. On February 21st, hackers managed to steal approximately $1.5 billion worth of digital currency from the world’s second-largest crypto exchange, Bybit. The majority of the stolen assets were Ethereum (ETH) and other Ethereum-based currencies. The heist beat by far other large-scale crypto breaches such as Ronin Network and Poly Network.
Who is behind the attack?
The Dubai-based platform was hit by an attack likely organized by the popular hacker organization Lazarus Group. Multiple blockchain monitoring organizations, as well as the FBI, believe that the attackers are backed by the North Korean government. The hackers have shown an astonishing understanding of crypto mechanisms, as they’ve been able to launder over a billion dollars worth of digital money in the first ten days after the heist, mostly using THORChain, mixers, and inter-chain exchanges. Most of the funds have been converted and transferred into thousands of Bitcoin wallets.
A Record-Breaking heist
The attack is of such large proportions that it is a strong contender for the title of the biggest heist ever, not only in the crypto world but in general. No one has ever been able to steal $1.5 billion dollars in one go. This incident beats even The Central Bank of Iraq Robbery of 2003 when approximately $1 billion worth of cash was stolen right before the US stormed Iraq.
With the wide adoption of crypto tokens, incidents such as this one should remind everyone that even though the crypto world is starting to be pretty regulated, it is still considered in its Wild West stage. Even though some experts believe that parts of the funds will be recovered, the criminals have already cashed out millions of dollars that will never be returned to their rightful owners.
Efforts to recover the stolen funds
There is still a chance for some of the funds. Bybit has opened a bounty program, inviting hackers and FinTech specialists to trace the stolen assets. Anyone who can help them track or freeze parts of the missing digital coins will be rewarded. The reward is a slice of the $140 million bounty program. Bybit has already awarded millions of dollars to tens of participating bounty hunters.
If you or your loved ones own or are thinking of investing in digital coins, protection is crucial. Cybercriminals are constantly looking for the next opportunity to steal crypto. Having an adequate antivirus system on all your connected devices might prevent them from accessing your digital treasure.