Flashpoints | Economy | East Asia

$6B Binance Heist Exposes How North Korea Turned Hacking Into a State Revenue Stream

The FBI blamed Pyongyang for the largest crypto theft on record. Its cash-out routes rely heavily on China.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said on October 31 that North Korea was responsible for the theft of more than $6 billion in digital assets from Binance – the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world by trading volume. The FBI labeled the hacking operation behind the attack TraderTraitor.

According to the blockchain analysis firm TRM Labs, the attackers moved about $6.36 billion out of the wallets of Binance on 10 blockchains. That would make the theft the largest on record, according to the firm. Most of the money left in about 20 minutes, starting from around 4:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern time on October 29. 

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The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said on October 31 that North Korea was responsible for the theft of more than $6 billion in digital assets from Binance – the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world by trading volume. The FBI labeled the hacking operation behind the attack TraderTraitor.

According to the blockchain analysis firm TRM Labs, the attackers moved about $6.36 billion out of the wallets of Binance on 10 blockchains. That would make the theft the largest on record, according to the firm. Most of the money left in about 20 minutes, starting from around 4:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern time on October 29. 

Binance said that it had frozen about $3 billion of the stolen assets and it pledged to cover all losses. The company halted withdrawals after the attack, and began a “phased resumption” on November 1. Meanwhile, the explanation of the cause grew more complicated. At first, Binance pointed to a compromised laptop that belonged to an engineer. Later, the company disclosed that its investigation had found more points of breach.

U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters at his residence in Florida on October 31 that “we don’t know if it’s North Korea.” However, the FBI seems more sure. It previously blamed the same........

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