The FBI has accused North Korea of stealing approximately $1.5 billion in cryptocurrency from the Bybit exchange, based in Dubai. This alleged theft, reported last week, is believed to be the largest cryptocurrency hack on record. North Korea has previously denied similar allegations of digital asset theft.
While the FBI didn’t specify which North Korean group was responsible, they indicated the attackers utilized ‘TraderTraitor,’ a collection of deceptive crypto applications. These applications trick users into installing malware by posing as job opportunities. Once installed, the malware enables hackers to compromise financial systems and steal funds.
According to the FBI, the hackers quickly converted portions of the stolen funds into Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, distributing them across numerous addresses on various blockchains. The agency suspects the North Korean actors will attempt to launder the funds and convert them into traditional currencies to avoid detection.
Bybit, which serves over 60 million users, reported that the security breach occurred during a standard transfer between digital wallets. The exchange explained that hackers exploited the process of moving funds from an offline storage system to a hot wallet used for trading, stealing around 401,000 Ethereum tokens (valued at $1.5 billion) and transferring them to an unknown address.
Bybit described the hack as a “sophisticated attack that masked the signing interface, displaying the correct address while altering the underlying smart contract logic.”
The company announced it had received over 350,000 withdrawal requests, which could cause processing delays. Bybit is also offering a 10% reward for the recovery of any stolen funds and has requested assistance from cybersecurity and blockchain forensics experts.
Western intelligence agencies have long accused North Korea of utilizing cyberattacks to finance its weapons programs and bypass international sanctions. The Lazarus Group, a suspected North Korean hacking unit, has been linked to previous cryptocurrency thefts, including the $620 million Ronin Network hack in 2022.
North Korea has not yet commented on the FBI’s allegations but has previously refuted claims of involvement in cryptocurrency theft, dismissing them as attempts to damage the country’s reputation.
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