North Korea responsible for $6 billion Binance cryptocurrency hack, FBI says - Fox Business
The FBI has confirmed that North Korean hackers were responsible for stealing more than $6 billion in cryptocurrency from Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, on Thursday.
The FBI and its partners at the U.S. Secret Service and IRS Criminal Investigation identified the theft as the work of North Korean hackers operating under the code name 'TraderTraitor.' The hackers stole more than $6 billion in virtual assets from Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, on Thursday.
Authorities said the hackers were primarily converting the stolen assets into Ethereum (ETH) and expect the funds to be further laundered through decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms and instant cryptocurrency exchange services.
Federal officials are now urging cryptocurrency exchanges, blockchain analytics firms, and other digital asset service providers to block transactions involving wallet addresses linked to the stolen funds to prevent the hackers from moving or laundering the assets.
Binance will absorb the financial impact of these stolen funds, not our users.
Exchange response and president's comments
Binance first disclosed the breach on Thursday, saying hackers had stolen approximately $6.3 billion in digital assets. The exchange temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals, and on Saturday, it said it had replenished approximately 90% of the stolen assets, covering roughly $6 billion of the estimated loss.
Binance stated that major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, and BNB, were fully backed, while it continued purchasing less-liquid tokens through market and over-the-counter transactions.
President Donald Trump addressed the breach on Saturday, saying his administration was still gathering information about the possible involvement of North Korean hackers.
I'm not concerned. We're learning about it. We don't know if it's North Korea, but if it is, we'll talk to them about it.
Cybersecurity expert warns of future attacks
Eric Schiffer, chairman of Patriarch and Reputation Management Consultants, described the incident as one of the world's greatest thefts of all time and warned that it could be the beginning of a broader wave of increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks.
Schiffer said the incident underscores growing cybersecurity challenges facing major financial institutions and warned that the use of artificial intelligence could lead to more powerful and frequent attacks.
Related
