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Binance says $6.3 billion stolen; firms link hack to North Korea
Binance said about $6.3 billion in crypto was taken in a breach and that roughly $3 billion was frozen, while analytics firms attributed the theft to a North Korean unit, BBC and TechCrunch reported.
Binance said a breach allowed unauthorized access to about $6.3 billion in cryptocurrency, and blockchain-intelligence firms attributed the theft to a North Korean hacking unit, BBC and TechCrunch reported1,2.
The exchange said roughly $3 billion of the stolen assets had been frozen with industry partners and that it was working with U.S. law enforcement, including the FBI1,2. The U.S. Secret Service said it was working to identify, freeze, trace and recover funds, BBC reported1.
Binance initially said the incident may have begun with a compromised DevOps engineer’s laptop that allowed unauthorized withdrawals1,2. Co-CEO Richard Teng later said investigators found additional breach points and that attackers used tools that destroyed traces, according to BBC1. TechCrunch said the company reported no evidence that private keys had leaked2.
The firm told users it would cover losses and said it had set aside more than $6.34 billion in company funds, BBC reported1. It had paused some deposits and withdrawals during the investigation1,2.
What remains unknown is the final net loss after freezes, how the laptop was compromised, and whether governments will formally charge a named group1,2.
Sources
How it’s being reported
2 sourcesFirst reported by 
TechCrunch
Crypto giant Binance attempting to recover $6.3bn stolen in hack linked to North Korea
Recovery effort, Secret Service comment, and later finding of multiple breach points.
BBC said Binance froze about $3 billion, set aside company funds to cover losses, and that analytics firms linked the hack to North Korea. BBC News
Leaves out TechCrunch’s detail that private keys were not reported leaked.
TechCrunchFirstNorth Korean hackers blamed for stealing record $6.3B in Binance breach
Initial laptop vector and that stolen amounts may still change.
TechCrunch said researchers blamed North Korean hackers and that Binance first pointed to a compromised engineer laptop.
Leaves out BBC’s U.S. Secret Service comments and Bitcoin price move.
Where they agree
- Impact was reported at about $6.3 billion.
- About $3 billion was described as frozen.
- Initial account involved a compromised engineer laptop.
Where they differ
Who carried out the theft