Binance Hacked & $6.3 Billion Stolen In Biggest Heist In History, Plus New Updates
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has said that about $6.3bn in funds have been stolen in a “security incident” that looks to be the biggest crypto heist in history.
The world’s largest crypto exchange said on Thursday that it had suspended all deposits and withdrawals and that about $3bn in funds had been frozen following the apparent hacking.
Binance said an initial investigation suggested that a hacker had been able to make unauthorised transactions after gaining access to an engineer’s compromised laptop.
The company said it would cover all losses, adding that user funds were “safe”.
“Our teams are working around the clock to resolve this issue safely and thoroughly,” Binance said in a statement to Al Jazeera.
“We are working closely with our law enforcement partners to confirm the identity of these criminals and bring them to justice.”
The company added that it would share a “detailed” technical post-mortem once investigations were complete.
Changpeng Zhao, Binance’s founder and largest shareholder, said earlier that the exchange appeared to have been hacked.
TRM, a blockchain intelligence firm, said in a report that it assessed with “high confidence” that the attack was carried out by North Korea’s hacking unit TraderTraitor, which investigators have linked to the Lazarus Group.
Binance, founded in China by Zhao in 2017, has about $155bn in assets under management, more than any other exchange, according to CoinMarketCap.
UPDATE: US Secret Service says it is helping to track funds stolen from crypto firm Binance in $6.3bn hack
The US Secret Service says its investigators are working “around the clock” to identify, freeze, trace, and recover funds stolen in what is thought to be the largest hack in history – worth up to $6.3bn (£4.7bn).
The affected firm Binance is the world’s largest crypto exchange, which earlier said it had “begun recovering” some funds after yesterday’s attack.
Investigators are still looking into the attack, aiming to freeze assets and trace the hackers, while the US Federal Bureau of Investigation has said it is “aware of the incident”.
Teng earlier said that Binance will share a full proof-of-reserves report by Monday and an initial view hopefully before that.
Withdrawal services remain switched off until they pass “rigorous testing”, which Teng earlier said is “on track” to be completed within 40 hours.
