Crypto Asset Exchange Bybit was attacked by cyber and experienced one of the biggest losses in its history. One of the cold wallets of the stock market was captured and Ethereum (ETH) worth approximately $ 1.5 billion was stolen. According to experts, this may be one of the largest digital thefts recorded not only in the crypto currency sector, but in the entire financial world. This attack, which has aroused a great impact in the crypto markets, brought up the problems of trust among investors. Bybit management is trying to calm its users by stating that customer assets are safe and compensate for losses.
Bybit CEO Ben Zhou announced that the attackers manipulated the smart contract structure of the cold wallet while sharing the details of the attack. According to Zhou’s statement, the control of the cold wallet with a message signed by the stock market was completely in the hands of the attackers. In this way, without the need for an intervention outside the system, all the Ethereum assets in the wallet was transferred to an unknown address. Zhou said in a statement after the incident that the other cold wallets are safe and that all operations continue normally. However, such events re -open the security measures of central crypto currency exchanges.
This loss of Bybit has led to serious fluctuations in crypto money markets. Following the hearing of the event, the price of Ethereum declined significantly and experienced a 6.7 percent decline. In the same period, Bitcoin lost 3 percent and caused uneasiness among investors. This loss, which constitutes approximately 9 percent of the total assets of Bybit, caused question marks on the financial structure of the stock market. However, the rapid funding of the company after the attack reduced the panic atmosphere in the market to a little bit. Management announced that most of the losses will be covered by partner bridge loans and that customer balances will not be affected.
Bybit takes new measures to increase security
Bybit’s security team is conducting a comprehensive investigation to identify those responsible for the attack and follow the stolen assets. The company is trying to trace the funds transferred by block chain analysis experts. On the other hand, this event again brought up the security of Blockchain technology. While the risks of keeping large funds in central exchanges emerge more and more clearly, investors are directed to take more measures to protect their assets. Even large stock exchanges such as Bybit are exposed to such attacks and show that security measures should be increased in the sector.
This attack has reached a record level compared to other major crypto thefts in the past. In 2022, Ronin Network was $ 620 million and 610 million dollars from Poly Network in 2021. However, none of these events contained as much as the Bybit attack. Famous in 2011 Mt. Gox The attack resulted in the stolen of 850,000 Bitcoin. This loss, which corresponds to approximately $ 450 million for that period, reaches a size of exceeding $ 80 billion when it is evaluated at today’s prices. This reveals that security vulnerabilities in the crypto currency industry may cause greater losses over time.
Bybit management, after the attack will strengthen the security protocols announced. Access to cold wallets will be reviewed and additional security layers will be commissioned. The company also aims to make its systems more resistant by working with Forensic Medicine teams to prevent similar attacks in the future. However, the question of how resistant the central exchanges are against attacks and how safe user assets are still valid.
Bybit’s measures after the attack are of great importance in order to rebuild the confidence in the crypto currency market. The company’s rapid compensation for the loss and the commitment to protect customer assets is seen as a positive development for investors. However, such large -scale attacks reveal the risks of central platforms, while encouraging investors to take personal security measures. Experts suggest investors who want to keep their assets long -term evaluation of alternative solutions such as hardware wallets.
In order to avoid similar events in the future, central exchanges will have to constantly update the security mechanisms. Considering that even large platforms such as Bybit are targeted, it is clear that security is more critical than ever in the crypto currency ecosystem. The most important issue for investors is to consciously act on protecting their own assets, rather than relying on the security measures offered by the stock exchanges.