The safety of exchange platforms is a central problem in the world of cryptos. A new attack recalls the increased vulnerability of the sector: Bybit, one of the most influential exchanges, has undergone an exceptional piracy, with an estimated loss of $ 1.5 billion in Ethereum. The incident provides information on the complexity of attacks that target Crypto infrastructure, as well as the challenges facing platforms to protect their users' funds. According to the first investigations, the attack would be the work of the Lazarus group, an organization of cybercriminals affiliated with North Korea, already responsible for several massive embezzlement in the sector. Bybit claims to be able to cover the losses, but the event questions the resilience of exchanges in the face of increasing threats.
An unprecedented scale orchestrated via a critical fault
The attack on Bybit was revealed on Friday by several on-chain analysts, including Zachxbt, who immediately alert On a suspicious movement of 400,000 ETH from the platform Cold Wallets. Indeed, more than 400,000 ETH were transferred outside the platform before being quickly exchanged for Stakés Meth and Steth tokens and then converted into Ethereum. Ben Zhou, CEO of Bybit, confirmed during a livestream that the attack had led to the loss of around 70 % of the ETH ETH reserves.
According to cybersecurity experts in Cywers, the attack has exploited a flaw in the transaction signature system. The hackers managed to duper the holders of the private keys of Bybit by inciting them to approve a fraudulent transaction which seemed legitimate. Jack Sanford, CEO of Sherlock Defi, suggests that the attackers were able to modify the parameters of the Smart Contract Multisig, which allowed them to take control of the funds. The exact details of the compromise remain uncertain, but several hypotheses evoke an intrusion via the user interface or an infection of the signatories.
The impact on Bybit and the measures taken to avoid collapse
Despite the severity of hacking, Bybit assured that user funds were covered at 1: 1. Exchange excludes any risk of losses for customers. In a message intended for investors published on the social network X (formerly Twitter) on February 22, Ben Zhou has clarified that the Exchange has already obtained a relay loan which covers 80 % of the stolen amount to preserve its liquidity and honor requests for withdrawals.
Faced with the pressure of investors and market observers, Bybit made the decision not to suspend withdrawals, despite the recommendations of Changpeng Zhao, ex-CEO of Binance, who suggested In a publication on February 21 on the X platform a temporary frost in order to avoid generalized panic. This approach differs from that adopted by other platforms having undergone similar attacks, such as FTX or Celsius, which had chosen to temporarily block access to funds, which aroused user distrust.
Such a hack may well mark a turning point in the way centralized platforms manage their reserves and secure their infrastructure. The involvement of the Lazarus group, known for its sophisticated attacks, raises the question of the regulations and the security protocols to be strengthened to avoid such disasters. Thus, voices are already rising to promote hybrid solutions that combine safety of cold portfolios and flexibility of validation systems. In a more provocative register, Arthur Hayes, co -founder of Bitmex, quipped by calling Vitalik Buterin to “Rollback La Blockchain Ethereum”, a reference to the 2016 Dao Hack which had led to a network bifurcation. If such an action is unthinkable today, this incident gives the foreground the debate on the reliability of centralized exchanges and the need for investors to diversify their storage strategies. The crypto ecosystem has not finished faced with these challenges, and the Bybit affair could well serve as an electroshock for the crypto industry.
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