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FBI blames North Korean hackers for record Binance cryptocurrency theft

United States officials and security researchers have linked North Korea to a record cyber attack against cryptocurrency exchange Binance that resulted in billions of dollars stolen.

FTMQ Tech, written by our newsroom0 views

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The Federal Bureau of Investigation has attributed a record cryptocurrency theft from Binance to North Korean state-backed hackers. Financial Times Tech, Bloomberg, NBC News, and The Korea Times all report that law enforcement identified North Korea as the party responsible for the attack. Outlets differ slightly on the exact sum stolen, with Financial Times Tech, NBC News, and TRM Labs reporting $6.3 billion to $6.36 billion, while Bloomberg and The Defiant report over $6 billion. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

Blockchain security companies also pointed to North Korean involvement prior to the official law enforcement statements. According to BBC News, analytics firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis both identified the Lazarus Group, a North Korean hacking unit also known as TraderTraitor, as the likely culprit with high confidence. [2][5]

Binance was originally founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao to provide a fast cryptocurrency trading platform. It has since grown into the largest digital asset exchange in the world, making the cyber heist the largest recorded hack in history. [1][2][5][11]

Financial Times Tech reports that cryptocurrency exchanges are moving to bolster their security measures following the massive breach. [1]

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In short

  • The FBI blamed North Korean hackers for a massive cyber attack on cryptocurrency exchange Binance.
  • Estimates of the stolen funds range from over $6 billion to $6.36 billion.
  • Blockchain analytics firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis attributed the attack to the Lazarus Group.
  • Cryptocurrency exchanges are moving to tighten security following the theft.

Sources

Every paragraph above points to the numbered items it rests on. Read the originals here.

  1. [1]FBI blames North Korean group for $6.3bn Binance cyber heistFinancial Times Tech, 3d ago (the report this story comes from)
  2. [2]Why North Korea's 'elite' hackers are the prime suspect in major Binance hackBBC News Technology, 4d ago
  3. [3]FBI Blames North Korea for $6 Billion Binance Crypto HackBloomberg Tech, 3d ago
  4. [4]FBI Blames North Korea for $6 Billion Binance Crypto HackBloomberg.com, 3d ago
  5. [5]North Korea Steals USD 6.36 Billion From Binance in the Largest Hack in HistoryTRM Labs, 5d ago
  6. [6]FBI says North Korea was behind the $6.3 billion Binance crypto hackNBC News, 3d ago
  7. [7]FBI says N. Korea responsible for over $6 bil. crypto theft from BinanceThe Korea Times, 3d ago
  8. [8]FBI Attributes $6 Billion-Plus Binance Hack to North KoreaThe Defiant, 3d ago

Background

  1. [9]North Korea on Wikipedia
  2. [10]List of security hacking incidents on Wikipedia
  3. [11]Binance on Grokipedia

Our newsroom writes these reports with the help of software, from the 11 sources listed and nothing else, and checks them against those sources. Facts can still be wrong or move on; the originals are the record. Spotted a mistake? Write to daniel@monsterkong.com.

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Earlier reports of ours on the same people and subjects.

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