Safe’s Reorganization: A Response to Operational Complexities
In a significant reorganization effort, Safe, a provider of self-custody infrastructure for cryptocurrencies, has announced the departure of 14 employees as the company adapts to increasing operational complexities. This move follows a serious breach that traced back to a compromised developer machine, leading to the theft of $1.43 billion from Bybit, a well-known cryptocurrency exchange, earlier this year.
Impact of the Bybit Hack
Safe’s co-founder, Lukas Schor, expressed deep regret over the layoffs, underlining the valuable contributions of those affected. He described the restructuring as necessary due to the challenges posed by the evolving crypto landscape, stating:
“As the ecosystem evolved and opportunities expanded, we scaled our efforts to explore new paths. However, this growth brought about coordination issues, affecting our operational efficiency.”
Support Measures for Affected Employees
To ease the transition for those impacted, Safe has outlined several support measures, including:
- Extended garden leave
- Enhanced severance packages
- Improved token vesting conditions
- Assistance for job placements within the Ethereum ecosystem
New Organizational Structure
The newly structured organization will be divided into three distinct teams:
- Revenue generation
- Research and development for innovation
- Ecosystem partnerships
Each unit is expected to operate with greater autonomy, agility, and alignment with industry expectations.
Details of the Security Breach
This restructuring comes on the heels of the Bybit hack, which has been attributed to an incident where a North Korean hacking group, known as TraderTraitor, compromised the laptop of a Safe developer. The attackers had utilized stolen AWS session tokens to evade multi-factor authentication, enabling their unauthorized access.
The breach began when a malicious project disguised as a stock investment simulator was downloaded, which subsequently communicated with a suspicious domain to install malware.
Looking Ahead
As Safe navigates these tumultuous changes, the company aims to realign itself with the fast-paced demands of the cryptocurrency ecosystem and enhance its overall security posture going forward.
