In this news:
A major security breach that allowed hackers to steal an estimated $1.5bn (£1.1bn) of cryptocurrency has been linked to a North Korean cybercrime group, according to experts. The Dubai-based exchange Bybit was targeted on 21 February with analysts at Elliptic reporting malware was used to approve transactions that sent the funds to the thief. The British blockchain analytics firm is blaming North Korea's Lazarus Group based on various factors, including an assessment of how the crypto assets were laundered. It claims North Korea-linked hackers have stolen over $6bn (£4.7bn) in crypto assets since 2017, with the proceeds reportedly spent on the country's ballistic missile program. Bybit's CEO Ben Zhou has insisted his firm is solvent and can cover the loss. But on Wednesday it had managed to trace only a tiny fraction of what was stolen. The exchange has now created a $140m (£100m) 'bounty' - amounting to around 10% of the stolen crypto - to reward those who successfully track and freeze stolen funds. The reward will be split between the organisation which successfully freezes the assets and those who help trace them. The price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have recently fallen sharply after the hack, erasing some of the gains made since Donald Trump took office on a pro-crypto agenda. Although cryptocurrency is highly volatile, even with Tuesday's drop Bitcoin is still up significantly since Mr Trump won last year's election. According to blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, theft of crypto assets peaked in 2022 with $3.7bn (£2.9bn) stolen, falling to $1.8bn (£1.4bn) in 2023, and $2.2bn (£1.7bn) in 2024. It says the number of hacking incidents has also been on the rise.
