North Korea denies being behind record $6.3bn Binance hack

North Korea has dismissed allegations that it orchestrated the massive $6.3 billion hack of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, labeling the accusations as "absurd rhetoric." Kim Yo Jong, a top official in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and sister of leader Kim Jong Un, stated that the claims are a "sinister attempt" by the United States to tarnish Pyongyang's image.

The FBI, Secret Service, and cyber analysts have attributed the hack, deemed the largest in history, to North Korea. Blockchain analysts and the FBI linked the attack to the state-backed hacking group TraderTraitor, also known as the Lazarus Group. The FBI has requested industry partners to prevent transactions involving cryptocurrency accounts associated with the group.

Kim Yo-jong, the director of North Korea's General Affairs Department, called the US accusations a "grave political provocation" against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, accusing the US of misleading international public opinion by falsely linking all cybercrimes to Pyongyang. Pyongyang has a history of being blamed for major cyber attacks, but consistently denies such claims.

The TraderTraitor unit, believed to be overseen by North Korea's intelligence agency, was previously linked to a $1.5 billion hack of crypto exchange Bybit. Kim Yo-jong reiterated that the DPRK government firmly opposes all malicious acts in cyberspace. Binance, which has largely focused on the technical aspects of the breach, confirmed that an engineer's compromised laptop enabled the unauthorized withdrawals.

Trading in major cryptocurrencies resumed after the exchange froze impacted assets. Binance users withdrew over $3.6 billion from the platform as it reopened following the hack. The company assured customers that it would cover all losses and had already covered around 95% of the stolen assets.