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SecurityQuiet 13d · day 13

Binance halts trading after hacked engineer's laptop enables $6.3B in bad trades

A compromised DevOps engineer's laptop let attackers submit unauthorized withdrawals, forcing an exchange-wide freeze.

newest coverage 12d agosummary written 12d ago4 pieces NewswiresGoogle News

What to know

  • Binance halted all trading, deposits, and withdrawals after a compromised DevOps engineer's laptop was used to submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions.
  • The exchange raised its exposure estimate from an initial $2.5 billion freeze to $6.3 billion in unauthorized trades.
  • Binance says there is no evidence of a wallet private-key leak and has pledged to cover any customer losses.
  • The method used to compromise the engineer's laptop has not been disclosed, leaving open the possibility of phishing or a supply-chain attack.

“should remain cautious of scams and should not trust unofficial links, messages, or requests for account information.”

Binance, Crypto exchange statement · The Register ↗ · Oct 28

Binance Crypto exchangeCompromised DevOps engineer Binance employee whose laptop was breachedUnknown attacker(s) Perpetrators of the unauthorized trades

Binance halts trading after hacked engineer's laptop enables $6.3B in bad trades
The Register

How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articles

Peak 1 piece in 3h at Oct 29, 6 PM; 4 pieces over 13 days (4 articles) Oct 29, 6 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Oct 29, 9 PM — quietOct 30, 12 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Oct 30, 3 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Google News 1Oct 30, 6 AM — quietOct 30, 9 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Oct 30, 12 PM — quietOct 30, 3 PM — quietOct 30, 6 PM — quietOct 30, 9 PM — quietOct 31, 12 AM — quietOct 31, 3 AM — quietOct 31, 6 AM — quietOct 31, 9 AM — quietOct 31, 12 PM — quietOct 31, 3 PM — quietOct 31, 6 PM — quietOct 31, 9 PM — quietNov 1, 12 AM — quietNov 1, 2 AM — quietNov 1, 5 AM — quietNov 1, 8 AM — quietNov 1, 11 AM — quietNov 1, 2 PM — quietNov 1, 5 PM — quietNov 1, 8 PM — quietNov 1, 11 PM — quietNov 2, 2 AM — quietNov 2, 5 AM — quietNov 2, 8 AM — quietNov 2, 11 AM — quietNov 2, 2 PM — quietNov 2, 5 PM — quietNov 2, 8 PM — quietNov 2, 11 PM — quietNov 3, 2 AM — quietNov 3, 5 AM — quietNov 3, 8 AM — quietNov 3, 11 AM — quietNov 3, 2 PM — quietNov 3, 5 PM — quietNov 3, 8 PM — quietNov 3, 11 PM — quietNov 4, 2 AM — quietNov 4, 5 AM — quietNov 4, 8 AM — quietNov 4, 11 AM — quietNov 4, 2 PM — quietNov 4, 5 PM — quietNov 4, 8 PM — quietNov 4, 11 PM — quietNov 5, 2 AM — quietNov 5, 5 AM — quietNov 5, 8 AM — quietNov 5, 11 AM — quietNov 5, 2 PM — quietNov 5, 5 PM — quietNov 5, 8 PM — quietNov 5, 11 PM — quietNov 6, 2 AM — quietNov 6, 5 AM — quietNov 6, 8 AM — quietNov 6, 11 AM — quietNov 6, 2 PM — quietNov 6, 5 PM — quietNov 6, 8 PM — quietNov 6, 11 PM — quietNov 7, 2 AM — quietNov 7, 5 AM — quietNov 7, 8 AM — quietNov 7, 11 AM — quietNov 7, 2 PM — quietNov 7, 5 PM — quietNov 7, 8 PM — quietNov 7, 11 PM — quietNov 8, 2 AM — quietNov 8, 5 AM — quietNov 8, 8 AM — quietNov 8, 11 AM — quietNov 8, 2 PM — quietNov 8, 5 PM — quietNov 8, 8 PM — quietNov 8, 11 PM — quietNov 9, 2 AM — quietNov 9, 5 AM — quietNov 9, 8 AM — quietNov 9, 11 AM — quietNov 9, 2 PM — quietNov 9, 5 PM — quietNov 9, 8 PM — quietNov 9, 11 PM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — quietYesterday, 5 AM — quietYesterday, 8 AM — quietYesterday, 11 AM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 5 PM — quietYesterday, 8 PM — quietYesterday, 11 PM — quietToday, 2 AM — quietToday, 5 AM — quietToday, 8 AM — quietToday, 11 AM — quietToday, 2 PM — quietToday, 5 PM — quietToday, 8 PM — quiet ◂ 1 earlier2
Oct 30Oct 31Nov 1Nov 2Nov 3Nov 4Nov 5Nov 6Nov 7Nov 8Nov 9yesterdaynow · 9:14 PM ET
  1. 2

    Register notes crypto exchanges' security still lags despite AI hype

    The Register framed the incident as evidence that, despite a year of AI reshaping infosec practices, crypto exchanges continue to suffer basic security failures, following other recent crypto incidents including a possible AI-powered attack the prior week.

    “Our teams are aware of reports of a potential security issue and are actively investigating.”
    — Binance, Crypto exchange statement · source
    1. 1 outlet In the year AI re-wrote the infosec rulebook, it's comforting to know crypto exchanges still have bad security

      first by The Register, 12d ago

  2. background

    Binance says hacked engineer's laptop caused $6.3B in bad trades — An update from Binance attributed the incident to a compromised DevOps engineer's laptop that allowed an attacker to access a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions, raising the at-risk figure to $6.3 billion while reporting no evidence of a wallet private-key leak.

  3. background

    Binance freezes $2.5 billion and halts all trading — To contain the incident, Binance froze $2.5 billion worth of assets and halted all trading, deposits, and withdrawals, warning the frozen amount could grow and promising to cover any customer losses.

  4. 1

    Binance reports a security issue and begins investigating

    Binance used its social media feeds to acknowledge reports of a potential security issue late Thursday US time, saying it was actively investigating while insisting user funds remained safe.