ByBit under hack attack: over $1.4 billion in ETH stolen

The cryptocurrency exchange ByBit has confirmed that it was the victim of a hacker attack that resulted in the theft of over 1.4 billion dollars in Ethereum (ETH). 

The initial estimates indicate that the centralized exchange based in Singapore has suffered one of the most severe breaches in recent years in the crypto sector, with the transfer of enormous amounts of funds to an unidentified wallet.

The dynamics of the hack attack and the comment from ByBit

The CEO of ByBit, Ben Zhou, stated on X that the hit was executed through a manipulation of the multisig signature of the platform’s cold wallet. According to reports, the attack involved an advanced phishing technique called “musked transaction”, which tricked the signers into validating a malicious operation without realizing it.

“The multisig cold wallet of ByBit ETH just made a transfer to our warm wallet about an hour ago. However, the signature message modified the logic of the smart contracts of our ETH cold wallet”.

The result? The hacker took control of the wallet, transferring all the ETH to an unknown address. Zhou assured that the rest of ByBit’s cold wallets remain secure and that withdrawals on the platform continue normally.

Targeted attack on ByBit cold wallet

The attack involved a strategic cold wallet, responsible for managing a significant amount of Ethereum. The operation generated a flow of transactions that quickly aroused suspicion among the crypto community and on-chain analysts.

The preliminary investigations suggest that part of the stolen funds have already been exchanged on decentralized exchanges (DEX), making the recovery of criptovalute even more complex. In response to the attack, ByBit announced an extraordinary live server maintenance, which might be related to post-hack security measures.

Race to Recover Funds and Countermeasures

Now the race begins to block the stolen funds and obtain the freeze of the assets at the main exchange platforms. Blockchain security experts are monitoring the addresses associated with the hacker, while the exchange is collaborating with the authorities to trace the origin of the attack.

This event highlights once again the risks associated with the security of centralized exchanges. 

Despite the evolution of protection measures, hackers continue to exploit sophisticated vulnerabilities to steal large sums. It remains to be seen if ByBit will succeed in mitigating the damages and protecting its users from potential future repercussions.