Binance hacked for an estimated $6.3 billion in record crypto theft

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has reportedly been hit with a cyber attack that resulted in an estimated $6.3 billion loss, The New York Times reported. The company promised to cover all losses but has suspended withdrawals. The value of the theft would be a record if accurate, easily eclipsing a $1.5 billion hack of the Bybit exchange last year.

"The estimated total impact is around $6.3 billion, and [Binance] has worked with blockchain partners to freeze affected assets, with approximately $3 billion frozen on-chain so far," the company wrote in an article on its website. "Binance... will cover all losses using funds from its SAFU [Secure Asset Fund for Users] fund and the company, and user funds are safe."

Binance clarified in another article that it had frozen withdrawals "for [a] security revamp," but that deposits were "normal." Cryto platforms Tether and Circle said they've frozen $1.5 billion and $800 million in funds, respectively, associated with the attack.

The hack may have started with a compromised DevOps laptop. "The exchange's initial investigation suggests that a compromised DevOps engineer's laptop may have enabled an attacker to access a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions," Binance wrote.

Multiple reports point to North Korea as the culprit. Security research firm TRM labs attributed the attack to TraderTraitor, North Korea's elite hacking unit, "based on robust on- and off-chain intelligence." It added that it makes the judgement with "high confidence," and is tracking the funds and alerting partners through its Beacon Network, which tracks real-time crypto crimes.

The scope of the hack has shocked the crypto community. "It may further dampen risk appetite and prompt investors to reassess the safety of assets held on centralized exchanges, as well as counterparty, solvency and liquidity risks," HashKey Group senior researcher Tim Sun told Reuters.