North Korean hackers suspected in record $6.3 billion Binance crypto theft - FOX 17 West Michigan News
A North Korean hacking unit is likely behind the record $6.3 billion theft from Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, according to blockchain intelligence firm TRM.
Binance confirmed the massive breach and announced it had worked with blockchain partners to freeze roughly $3 billion in affected assets. The cryptocurrency exchange said deposits were unaffected, while withdrawals have been suspended and are expected to resume in the next day or two. The company stated it would cover all losses resulting from the hack.
The company initially suggested on X that a compromised laptop may have been involved, but subsequent investigations uncovered additional "points of breach." This attack would surpass the previous record crypto theft if confirmed, with approximately $6.36 billion moved out of Binance wallets across ten blockchains, most of it in about 20 minutes.
North Korean Connection
TRM attributed the attack to TraderTraitor, which it described as North Korea's elite hacking unit. "We make this judgment with high confidence," the firm stated. Blockchain analysis company Chainalysis also believed the hack was "likely done by DPRK group TraderTraitor," according to its co-founder and CEO Jonathan Levin.
Several features of this attack match earlier North Korea-linked heists, including the Bybit hack.
In February last year, another cryptocurrency exchange, Bybit, suffered a $1.5 billion hit when it was hacked, which the FBI attributed to North Korea and TraderTraitor. A Binance spokesperson declined to comment on the potential North Korean ties, stating only that the company is "working closely with our law enforcement partners to confirm the identity of the criminals and bring them to justice."
Security Concerns
Experts note that North Korea has turned to crypto hacking as a source of foreign currency to support its economy and fund its nuclear program amid international sanctions. In December 2022, South Korea's spy agency estimated North Korean hackers had stolen 1.5 trillion won ($1.1 billion) in cryptocurrency over five years, with more than half occurring in 2022 alone.
The hack raises questions about security controls at Binance. Kok Tin Gan, cofounder and CEO of cybersecurity firm NyxLab, suggested: "This looks like one signature that gave the attacker a never-expiring, full-access token to a Binance hot wallet." Binance responded on X that it had "found no evidence of any wallet private key leak" and promised to release more technical details when its probe is complete.
Changpeng Zhao, who founded Binance in 2017 but stepped down as CEO in 2023 after pleading guilty to money laundering charges, posted on X that "User funds are safe!" while acknowledging the theft "does look like a hack on Binance." As a shareholder, he expressed confidence that "all user funds will be fully covered."
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