How Hackers Stole $6.34 Billion From Binance Using a Fake Job Interview

Imagine losing billions of dollars to criminals who spent five months quietly planning the attack. That's exactly what happened to Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange (a website where people buy and sell digital coins). On Tuesday, the company revealed how hackers stole a staggering $6.34 billion in October.

How the attack started

The criminals didn't break in through brute force. Instead, they tricked Binance's own employees. The scheme began in June when an engineer downloaded a fake version of a coding tool. Later, in September, another engineer was approached on a legitimate job website by someone pretending to be a company director.

After fake video interviews — even with a pretend CEO — the engineer was given an "assignment" to install software on his work computer. That software was actually malware (malicious software designed to secretly damage or control a computer). It gave the hackers a secret doorway into Binance's systems.

The theft itself

When the attack finally launched on October 29, the money disappeared fast. The hackers drained several "hot wallets" (online accounts that store crypto for quick access). Stolen amounts included:

• 233.46 million XRP
• 970,500 SOL (Solana coins)
• 44.2 million OP (Optimism coins)
• 18,270 BTC (Bitcoin)
• 2,961.9 ETH (Ethereum)

Binance acted quickly and says it has frozen or recovered about $2.85 billion of the stolen funds. Importantly, the company replaced 98% of the affected coins using its own money, meaning most customers won't lose out.

The FBI blamed North Korea for the attack, though North Korea strongly denied it, calling the accusation a "grave political provocation."

What's next

Binance has rebuilt its systems, replaced hacked devices, and tightened security. The incident has also sparked debate in Washington about regulating offshore crypto exchanges more strictly.

The key lesson? Even the biggest companies can be fooled by patient criminals who target people, not just computers.

This is an AI-generated summary. Read the original article at: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/binance-says-6-34-billion-hack-job