In the wake of what is believed to be the largest crypto heist in history, crypto exchange Bybit has launched a $140 million bounty program aimed at tracing and freezing approximately $1.4 billion in stolen Ethereum.
The bounty, announced by Bybit’s CEO and co-founder Ben Zhou on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, is part of a broader effort to counteract the activities of the Lazarus Group—a North Korean-backed hacker collective accused of targeting cryptocurrency platforms.
Under the new bounty program, 5% of any traced and frozen stolen funds will be awarded to the individual who identifies them, with an additional 5% granted to the entity that facilitates the freeze. At the time of reporting, five bounty hunters have collectively received $4.23 million in rewards. The program’s official site, notable for its provocative logo depicting a knife impaling an image resembling North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, underscores the firm’s determination to hold perpetrators accountable.
“We will not stop until Lazarus or bad actors in the industry is eliminated. In the future, we will open it up to other victims of Lazarus as well,” Zhou stated, emphasizing the company's commitment to dismantling networks that support cybercriminal activity in the crypto space.
Multiple security researchers and crypto monitoring firms have pointed to strong evidence suggesting that the hackers behind the Bybit breach are working for the North Korean government. Governments of the United States, Japan, and South Korea have indicated that North Korean-linked cyber operations stole around $650 million in cryptocurrency in 2024 alone, highlighting the escalating threat facing digital asset platforms.
Preliminary forensic investigations led by Sygnia Labs and Verichains have provided further insights into the hack. Sygnia Labs identified the “root cause” as malicious code originating from the infrastructure of SafeWallet, a crypto wallet platform. Verichains added that a benign JavaScript file had been replaced with a malicious version designed specifically to target Bybit’s Ethereum Multisig Cold Wallet. Both investigations pointed to a breach of a developer’s device at SafeWallet, a vulnerability that SafeWallet has since confirmed.
Bybit’s aggressive bounty initiative marks a significant step in the ongoing battle against cybercrime in the cryptocurrency sector. As efforts intensify to trace and freeze the stolen funds, the program not only aims to recover assets but also sends a strong message to other potential bad actors in the industry.
Middle East tensions remain high as the U.S. and Iran exchange strikes while signalling progress towards a possible deal. Clashes around the Strait of...
The United States and Iran have traded fresh strikes, with the U.S. hitting military sites and Iran launching missiles and drones at bases and ship...
A London court has handed down lengthy sentences to activists from campaign group Palestine Action, who raided an Israeli-owned arms company in the U...
Sierra Leone’s First Lady, Fatima Jabbe-Bio, has lost her London social housing flat after a UK council seized it. ...
SpaceX made a historic entrance into the Nasdaq on Friday, surging over 20% in its first day of trading and lifting its valuation to more than $2 tril...
Mexico and South Africa meet in Thursday’s World Cup opener in Mexico City, with both teams approaching the match from very different positions but facing their own pressures.
SpaceX has made history with the largest initial public offering ever in the United States, pricing its shares at $135 each and achieving a market valuation of $1.77 trillion.
SpaceX made a historic entrance into the Nasdaq on Friday, surging over 20% in its first day of trading and lifting its valuation to more than $2 trillion. Investors flocked to the world’s largest IPO, betting on Elon Musk’s sprawling empire spanning rockets, AI and beyond.
While France hosts next week’s Group of Seven summit, businesses in neighbouring Switzerland have already begun taking precautions, with many shops in Geneva boarded up ahead of a large anti-G7 demonstration expected on Sunday.
Formula 1 driver Pierre Gasly’s Monaco Grand Prix podium has been reinstated after Alpine successfully challenged his post-race penalties through a Right of Review request with the FIA.
The Canadian government has introduced a digital safety bill that would ban children under the age of 16 from using social media, unless platforms meet specific safety standards.
NASA has named three American astronauts and one Italian astronaut to fly on its Artemis III mission, a major orbital test planned for late next year that will evaluate lunar landing vehicles developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin.
China will send an astronaut to its space station on Sunday for a one-year mission, the longest duration for the country so far. The mission will help study long-duration human physiology in space as China works toward a crewed Moon landing by 2030.
Anxiety over artificial intelligence is hardening among young workers as executives promote faster adoption and companies point to automation in fresh job cuts.
Hackers are increasingly using artificial intelligence to detect software vulnerabilities, reducing the time organisations have to respond to cyber threats, Verizon said in its annual data breach report.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment