Binance: hacked notebook may have paved the way for the theft of US$6.3 billion

A hacked notebook belonging to one of Binance's engineers may have paved the way for the theft of US$6.3 billion (around R$34 billion) from the brokerage, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world.

According to the company, an initial investigation indicates that the computer may have been used to access one of its systems and make unauthorized withdrawals. The attack is considered by experts to be the largest theft of digital currencies ever recorded.

“Our security team is tracing the entire path of the attack through the compromised computer, which may be the entry point of the incident,” Binance stated. Later, the company reported having identified other invasion points.

Mark Karpeles, former head of bitcoin exchange Mt Gox, told Reuters that the attackers likely accessed the private keys of at least two Binance wallets. Based in Tokyo, Mt Gox closed its activities 12 years ago, after the theft of US$500 million in bitcoin.

“Binance appears to have divided its assets across multiple systems, ensuring that an attack can only affect part of the assets, but even so a single attack is a big loss,” said Karpeles.

According to news agency AFP, blockchain analysis firm TRM Labs said on Thursday it had “high confidence” that the attack was carried out by TraderTraitor, a hacking group linked to North Korea. The company cited “robust information on and off the blockchain.”

“Several features of the attack coincide with previous robberies linked to North Korea,” TRM said.

Analysts believe that TraderTraitor is part of the Lazarus Group, which gained notoriety in 2014, when it was accused of hacking into Sony Pictures systems in retaliation for “The Interview”, a film that satirized North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

According to analysts, the attack on Binance could have broader consequences for the cryptocurrency sector, which was already facing pressure from higher interest rates in the United States and the drop in demand from buyers of exchange-traded funds.