$6.3 billion stolen from Binance: the largest crypto theft ever, via compromised hot wallet signing

On 29 October roughly $6.3 billion in various assets was drained from Binance across ten blockchains. It is larger than any previous theft by an order of magnitude: the old record stood at about $1.5 billion.

TRM Labs and Chainalysis point to North Korea’s TraderTraitor group and to a compromise of the hot wallet signing infrastructure. In other words the attack hit neither the blockchain nor a smart contract but the process by which the exchange signs its own transactions. The FBI says the loot is already being converted into Ethereum.

Circle, Tether and other issuers froze about $2.7 to 3 billion. The attackers still hold around $2.4 billion by TRM’s estimate. Binance said it will cover all user losses, has restored backing for 90% of affected assets and resumed withdrawals in phases. That does not mean 90% was recovered: it means the exchange plugged the hole from its own reserves.

For engineers the lesson is the old one. The most expensive vulnerability is not in the code but in where the keys live and who can reach them.

Source: CNBC