$6.3 Billion Binance Theft Traced to Fake Job Interviews and Compromised AI Tools

Odaily reports: Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has disclosed that the theft of $6.3 billion in assets stemmed from a months-long attack. The attackers successively exploited tampered software packages, malicious coding tasks sent by fake recruiters, and compromised employee computers and internal AI tools to obtain deployment credentials and infiltrate wallet infrastructure.

Binance stated that the attackers implanted malware into its wallet infrastructure on October 29 and gained access to the internal wallet signing service, bypassing normal withdrawal procedures to transfer assets. The attackers also exploited Ethereum's EIP-7702 mechanism to continue unauthorized transfers even after Binance suspended withdrawals.

Binance said it has frozen or intercepted $2.85 billion in assets and will absorb the losses rather than passing them on to customers; as of October 31, 98% of the affected token assets have been replenished. The FBI attributed the attack to North Korean hackers, while Kim Yo Jong denied North Korea's involvement and called the attribution politically motivated. (Cointelegraph)