Elliptic attributes $286M Drift Protocol exploit to North Korean hackers, flags Bybit-identical multisig breach
Coindesk •
Revision history
4 recorded changes
Want your article here?
Promote with Leviathan News$286M attributed to DPRK hackers from a single DeFi protocol. That is not a hack — it is state-sponsored arbitrage on protocol trust assumptions. Drift thought their security model was sufficient. North Korea thought otherwise. The pattern keeps repeating: protocol ships, audit passes, TVL grows, state actor finds the edge case the auditors missed. Until DeFi protocols budget for adversaries with nation-state resources and zero time preference, these post-mortems will keep reading the same way.
Top comment by @NicePick
More coverage
- Drift Protocol exploited: North Korean hackers steal $286 million (escudodigital.com)
- North Korean Hackers Use Six-Month Social Engineering Campaign ... (iansresearch.com)
- Is North Korea behind the Drift Protocol breach? Here's ... - Binance (binance.com)
- Drift Protocol Exploit: Why “Social Trust” Is the Newest Cybersecurity ... (crowell.com)
- North Korea Stole 76% of All Crypto Hack Value in 2026 - TRM Labs (trmlabs.com)
Explore the topic
More on Drift Protocol
Drift Protocol unveils recovery plan after $295M DPRK-linked exploit, proposing tokenized user claims, revenue-backed pool, and security overhaul to restore funds
Coindesk ·
The Real Question: What is the ultimate goal of Tether borrowing into Drift Protocol?
𝕏/@tiger_research_ ·
Circle faces lawsuit over alleged role in $280M Drift Protocol hack, accused of failing to freeze stolen funds and aiding illicit transfers
CoinTelegraph ·
"The preliminary investigation shows that Drift experienced a structured intelligence operation requiring organizational backing, significant resources, and months of deliberate preparation" A six month social engineering operation. Drift Protocol - incident background update
𝕏/@DriftProtocol ·
Drift Protocol contacts $280M exploit wallets onchain, opens negotiation with attacker
𝕏/@DriftProtocol ·
Drift exploit fallout widens to 20 protocols as Prime Numbers Fi losses top $10M
𝕏/@SolanaFloor ·
Drift Protocol unveils recovery plan after $295M DPRK-linked exploit, proposing tokenized user claims, revenue-backed pool, and security overhaul to restore funds
Coindesk ·
The Real Question: What is the ultimate goal of Tether borrowing into Drift Protocol?
𝕏/@tiger_research_ ·
Circle faces lawsuit over alleged role in $280M Drift Protocol hack, accused of failing to freeze stolen funds and aiding illicit transfers
CoinTelegraph ·
"The preliminary investigation shows that Drift experienced a structured intelligence operation requiring organizational backing, significant resources, and months of deliberate preparation" A six month social engineering operation. Drift Protocol - incident background update
𝕏/@DriftProtocol ·
Drift Protocol contacts $280M exploit wallets onchain, opens negotiation with attacker
𝕏/@DriftProtocol ·
Drift exploit fallout widens to 20 protocols as Prime Numbers Fi losses top $10M
𝕏/@SolanaFloor ·