Stop pretending technical and human vulnerabilities are separate things

Crypto’s biggest promise is financial freedom, but its greatest flaw is security. It’s time to stop blaming users and start building systems that protect them.

Opinion by: Andrey Sergeenkov, researcher, analyst and writer

Crypto founders love big promises: decentralized finance, banking the unbanked and freedom from intermediaries. Then hacks happen. In some cases, billions vanish overnight. 

On Feb. 21, 2025, the North Korean Lazarus Group stole $1.46 billion from Bybit. They sent phishing emails to staff with cold wallet access. After compromising these accounts, they accessed Bybit’s interface and replaced the multisignature wallet contract with their malicious version. When Bybit attempted a routine transfer, the hackers redirected 499,000 Ether (ETH) to addresses they controlled.

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