North Korea denies being behind record $6.3bn Binance hack

North Korea denied allegations that it orchestrated a massive $6.3 billion cyber attack on cryptocurrency exchange Binance, calling the claims "absurd rhetoric". Kim Yo Jong, a high-ranking North Korean official, stated that the accusations are an attempt to damage Pyongyang's public image. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Secret Service, and cyber analysts have identified North Korea as the perpetrator of the hack, which is considered the largest in history.

This follows a series of cyber attacks attributed to North Korea, which has been accused of using cybercrime to finance its sanctioned economy. The FBI has called on industry partners to block transactions involving cryptocurrency accounts linked to the state-backed hacking group TraderTraitor, also known as the Lazarus Group. The group previously claimed responsibility for a $1.5 billion hack of crypto exchange Bybit in 2025.

North Korea has a history of developing cyber operations, recruiting students from universities and sending them to hacker units overseen by the country's intelligence agency. Pyongyang consistently denies such claims, insisting it resolutely opposes all cyberspace malicious acts.