FBI: North Korean hackers stole $6.3 billion from Binance

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation says North Korean state-sponsored hackers stole $6.3 billion in virtual assets from cryptocurrency exchange Binance, with the platform promising to cover 90 percent of losses.

FBI: North Korean hackers stole $6.3 billion from Binance

North Korean state-sponsored hackers stole virtual assets worth roughly $6.3 billion from the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation disclosed late Saturday. The agency attributed the breach to a Pyongyang-backed collective operating under the name TraderTraitor. Aktuálně.cz reported the announcement, citing Reuters (source).

According to investigators, members of the group moved the stolen funds into ethereum. The FBI warned that additional laundering of the assets is expected through related technologies. Blockchain security firm TRM Labs had previously flagged suspicions that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was behind the incident.

Binance, which serves 335 million registered users, said it has already secured enough resources to reimburse 90 percent of the stolen cryptocurrencies. The remaining ten percent comprises less liquid tokens that could take longer to recover in the necessary volumes. The exchange plans to resume crypto withdrawals on Sunday, 1 November, as previously announced.

Co-chief executive Richard Teng described the attack as complex. He said the perpetrators exploited a compromised laptop and deployed malicious software designed to erase traces of their activity and obstruct the investigation. Teng spoke on Friday. At the same time, Binance published a fresh reserve overview of assets held on the platform as of midnight between 30 and 31 October.

The exchange has not obtained a European MiCA licence and therefore lacks authorisation to provide regulated crypto services in the European Union.

Source: Aktuálně.cz