US Blames North Korea for History’s Worst Crypto Hack

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has accused North Korea of orchestrating the largest cryptocurrency theft in history, a $6.3 billion hack of Binance, the leading digital currency exchange. A recent cyber alert issued by the bureau assigned responsibility to a North Korean state-backed hacking unit called TraderTraitor. This marks North Korea's second-largest crypto heist, following a $1.5 billion theft from the Bybit exchange last year.

The hackers employed a sophisticated technique, siphoning funds from Binance's internet-connected hot wallets on October 29 (US Eastern Time). They swiftly transferred the stolen assets across several blockchains before Binance co-CEO Richard Teng acknowledged the "complex attack." This breach involved the use of a compromised laptop and malicious software designed to erase evidence of its activity, complicating investigations.

Blockchain analytics firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis had previously traced the attack back to TraderTraitor, who was also linked to the Lazarus Group. Chainalysis estimated that around $2.8 billion of the stolen assets have been frozen. Binance assures its users that they will not suffer any financial loss. The exchange has replenished about 90% of the stolen assets using its own funds, and the remaining 10% will be covered by additional company resources.

Binance is actively working to reopen withdrawals by Sunday, pending completion of security checks. Users are urged to follow official Binance channels for updates as scammers often attempt to exploit users following high-profile hacks. The incident highlights the vulnerability of even the world's largest crypto exchange to state-sponsored cybercriminals, with North Korea responsible for multiple high-profile crypto thefts in the past.