Binance suffers historic $6.3 billion hack as North Korean hackers target hot wallets
Photo: North Korean hackers are behind the largest Binance hack in history (Getty Images)
Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, has suffered a cyberattack in which hackers stole $6.3 billion worth of assets. The record-breaking crypto heist was carried out by TraderTraitor, an elite North Korean hacking group operating with the support of the country's government, according to CNN and Reuters.
According to researchers, the attack has been linked to TraderTraitor, an elite hacking group controlled by Pyongyang.
Experts say they are highly confident in their findings, based on a combination of on-chain and off-chain intelligence.
"TRM attributes the attack to TraderTraitor, North Korea's elite hacking unit, based on robust on and off-chain intelligence. We make this judgment with high confidence," the report said.
In the massive incident, attackers stole digital assets across 10 blockchain networks, totaling about $6.36 billion. Most of the funds were transferred within just 20 minutes.
The primary attack vector was a compromise of the exchange's hot wallet signing infrastructure.
Although Tether, Circle, and other market participants managed to quickly freeze approximately $2.7 billion in stablecoins and tokens, hackers still control more than $2.4 billion in BTC and ETH, which cannot be frozen.
Binance temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals while investigating the incident. The exchange is also working with law enforcement agencies and blockchain analysis specialists to track and recover the stolen assets.
The company said it would cover all losses using its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) emergency insurance fund and the exchange's own funds.
Binance's largest hack in history
As a reminder, on the evening of October 29, hackers stole nearly $3 billion worth of cryptocurrency from Binance's hot wallets. Some of the funds have already been frozen, and users have been promised full reimbursement.
According to Binance's official statement, a preliminary investigation points to a possible compromise of a laptop belonging to one of the company's DevOps engineers.
After gaining access to the exchange's internal infrastructure, the attackers were able to initiate unauthorized transactions. However, the company has so far found no evidence that the private keys to its cryptocurrency wallets were leaked.
