North Korea's hackers pulled off the biggest crypto heist ever — $6.3 billion from Binance
Blockchain intelligence firms link North Korea to $6.3B hack on Binance
Binance reported roughly $6.3 billion in affected assets after an apparent hack, and blockchain intelligence firms TRM and Chainalysis both attribute the attack to TraderTraitor, North Korea's elite hacking unit, with TRM citing "high confidence." The attacker moved the funds across ten blockchains, most of it in about 20 minutes. Binance froze around $3 billion, suspended withdrawals, and says it will cover all losses. Experts point to a single signature granting a never-expiring, full-access token to a hot wallet.
This looks like one signature that gave the attacker a never-expiring, full-access token to a Binance hot wallet.
- MiroslavPokorny
Like nearly everything in this modern world, the public statements or claims are never true and the opposite is the reality. Im thinking of those people worried about the government taking their money, and today we see the safety of crypto is fundamentally broken because ANYONE can take your money. Maybe its me, but i would rather trust the gov than ANYONE.
- gradus_ad
Crypto enthusiasts misunderstand what a financial system/financial architecture is. It is not the fiat currencies themselves, but rather the power architecture that controls and oversees value and exchange in whatever form it takes. Crypto has been entirely subsumed into this architecture through the exchanges which are obviously beholden to the holders of real power, i.e. governments.
This is to say, the stated goal and the target of the crypto enthusiasts are misaligned. To transcend the institutions represented by the fiat system requires far more than creating some alternative "currency", rather it requires creating an entirely new power structure.
- jstummbillig
Man, if only there existed some central societal body with the authority to essentially freeze accounts and unwind a transaction like this. What a security feature that would be.
- sandeepkd
At this point it feels like they have made it a /dev/null for things which are not easy to resolve and one is still on the hook to provide some answers
- ano-ther
Here is the underlying report from TRM: https://www.trmlabs.com/resources/blog/north-korea-steals-us...
- ilamont
A question: how come the North Koreans aren't draining banks in the U.S. and other countries of cash using equally sophisticated exploits against known technical and human vulnerabilities?
- 78401-236124950
No surprises there - of course they linked it to NK... These parasitic intelligence firms are draining taxpayer money because law enforcement agencies lack blockchain expertise and constantly outsource their investigations. We’ve already seen cases where firms like Chainalysis and TRM provided flawed data that led to innocent people being wrongfully charged. Worse yet, their operations rely on backroom cooperation with private intelligence mercenaries, trading illegally obtained data on private citizens worldwide.
Yet, they consistently fail to trace truly sophisticated threat actors, like the 2017 Parity Wallet hacker or the KyberSwap exploiter. These individuals continue to cash out massive amounts year after year, completely undisturbed. Pathetic companies like SlowMist can only continue making wet dream Twitter posts each year, promising that they will "catch them soon!", looking even more pathetic.
"ThE iNdUsTry iS WaTcHiNg!"
- _HMCB_
How can they be brought to justice, as stated, if they’re state sponsored? And how do members get their crypto back? There’s 6+ billion in insurance to back what was stolen?