Binance halts deposits, withdrawals after suspected $6.3bn cyberattack

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has temporarily halted deposits and withdrawals following a suspected cyberattack that could have affected $6.3 billion in assets. The exchange announced the security breach on Friday, stating it had initiated an investigation and was collaborating with blockchain partners to freeze the affected assets.

Preliminary findings from Binance's security team suggest the attack might have originated from a compromised laptop owned by a DevOps engineer. The engineer's laptop allegedly provided an attacker with access to a service container, enabling unauthorized withdrawal transactions. Binance emphasized that it found no evidence of compromised wallet private keys in the incident.

The company assured users that their funds were safe, promising to cover all losses using its Secure Asset Fund for Users and corporate reserves. Binance's immediate response included pausing deposits and withdrawals, revoking the permissions of the affected address, and notifying law enforcement agencies and blockchain intelligence firms to trace and recover the stolen assets.

The exchange's security and technical teams are working around the clock to resolve the incident, with further updates expected as the investigation progresses.