Binance resumes withdrawals after $6.3bn hack blamed on North Korea
The exchange says it covered about 90% of losses, while the FBI names a North Korean state-sponsored group.
Key facts
Story- Binance has started letting customers withdraw funds after a record $6.3bn theft
- The exchange says it has covered about 90% of the losses
- The FBI blames a North Korean state-sponsored group called TraderTraitor
Binance has begun allowing customers to withdraw their money from the cryptocurrency exchange, days after a theft of about $6.3bn (£4.7bn). The exchange was hit on Thursday in what has been called the largest heist in history. The FBI has blamed a North Korean state-sponsored group known as TraderTraitor.
Binance said it has covered about 90% of the losses. A later company statement put the stolen amount at $6.34 billion in digital assets. Around $2.85 billion of those assets have since been frozen or intercepted, the statement said.
The attackers used fake job interviews and advanced malware to get into Binance's systems. Binance said it moved to replace the lost assets and limit the damage.
Cybersecurity experts had warned for years about North Korea's long-running and patient hacking campaigns. Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, still appears to have been caught off guard.
How the remaining losses will be covered, and when every affected account will be fully restored, have not yet been stated. Investigators have not publicly detailed how the malware spread through the company's systems.
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