Bybit sues North Korea, Lazarus Group over last year’s $1.5B hack

Bybit has filed a civil lawsuit against North Korea, its Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB), and the Lazarus Group over last year’s $1.5 billion hack, CoinDesk reported. The exchange filed the case in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and also secured a preliminary injunction barring the transfer or disposal of certain assets tied to the incident while the case is underway, according to CoinDesk. Bybit CEO Ben Zhou said, "Our goal is to put user protection first, recover as much as possible, and hold accountable those behind these attacks." Zhou added, "The Lazarus attack was not simply an attack on Bybit. It was an attack that shook trust in our industry." He said Bybit has worked closely with investigators, exchanges, regulators, judicial authorities and now the court, and plans to seek additional relief. The civil case is proceeding separately from an ongoing criminal investigation by U.S. law enforcement authorities, the report said. The Lazarus Group stole about $1.5 billion worth of Ethereum from Bybit in February last year.