North Korea denies role in $6.4 billion Binance hack after FBI points to TraderTraitor
North Korea's Kim Yo Jong denied U.S. accusations that her country orchestrated the $6.4 billion Binance hack, calling the FBI's claims a political provocation.
Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, denied U.S. accusations on Monday that her regime is behind the $6.4 billion Binance hack, calling the FBI's claims a political attack against her country.
Kim accused Washington of blaming North Korea whenever a major cybercrime occurs, according to her statement published Tuesday by state news KCNA.
FBI Attribution
Her denial comes days after the FBI attributed the October 29 Binance theft to TraderTraitor, a North Korean hacking operation. The U.S. law enforcement agency identified cryptocurrency addresses associated with the stolen funds and urged exchanges and blockchain services to block transactions involving them.
Blockchain investigators have also linked the Binance hack to North Korea's Lazarus Group. Elliptic subsequently traced the movement of stolen funds through thousands of wallets, finding evidence of automated laundering but no proof that AI agents were directing the transactions.
North Korean Pattern
Washington has spent years tracing cryptocurrency thefts to North Korean state-linked hackers, imposing sanctions and bringing criminal charges. The Binance attack, if the FBI's attribution is correct, would mark a sharp escalation in the amount of cryptocurrency the group has stolen.
In 2019, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned Lazarus Group, Bluenorff and Andariel, saying the three hacking groups were controlled by North Korea's military intelligence agency. Two years later, the Justice Department charged three North Korean military hackers with attempting to steal or extort more than $1.3 billion from banks and businesses, including cryptocurrency companies.
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