FBI links $6 billion Binance theft to North Korea

The FBI on Oct. 31 attributed Binance’s Oct. 29 theft of more than $6 billion in virtual assets to North Korea-linked TraderTraitor, according to its cyber alert. The Associated Press reported the $6.3 billion theft as the largest cryptocurrency heist on record.

The FBI said it had observed the attackers converting the stolen assets primarily into Ether. It expects them to use decentralized finance services and instant swaps to further launder the funds.

What is the FBI asking crypto firms to do?

The FBI, U.S. Secret Service and IRS Criminal Investigation urged exchanges, node operators, DeFi services and other virtual asset firms to block transactions linked to addresses used by TraderTraitor. The FBI published a list of addresses holding or previously holding assets from the theft.

The alert says the activity occurred on or about Oct. 29 and identifies it as “TraderTraitor,” the FBI’s label for this North Korean cyber activity. The bureau asked firms to block transactions with or derived from the listed addresses as the funds move through laundering services.

How much of the loss will Binance cover?

Binance said it had enough of the same digital assets set aside to cover 90% of the missing funds and promised to reimburse customers fully, the Associated Press reported. The FBI’s notice focused on attribution and tracking, and did not give a recovery total.

The theft puts pressure on services that can identify or stop the funds before they are converted again. The FBI said its partner agencies were monitoring the assets and asked private-sector firms to help disrupt the laundering.

Sources

• cyber alert — fbi.gov
• Associated Press reported — apnews.com