Fake Interview Cost Binance $6.3 Billion: Hackers Breached Exchange through Developer

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Binance reported that hackers used a fake interview to compromise the company's computer and an internal artificial intelligence tool. This allowed them to gain control over the cryptocurrency wallets of the largest cryptocurrency exchange and withdraw funds totaling $6.3 billion, which may have become the largest financial theft in history.

According to Binance, the attack began in June when a member of the cryptocurrency wallet development team downloaded a compromised artificial intelligence tool. The exchange discovered this fact, replaced the device, and changed credentials, but information about the job responsibilities of this employee and other team members had already fallen into the hands of hackers.

In September, another engineer from this team, who was job hunting, downloaded a repository with malicious code to his computer. This occurred after an interview for a position, which he believed was real, during the process, he even had a virtual meeting with the 'CEO' of a non-existent company.

On October 20, the attackers used the compromised computer and internal AI tool to access the systems of both developers. On October 29, hackers exploited the second developer's computer, using credentials previously stolen from the first, and executed a malicious script that directly initiated the attack, enriching the cybercriminals by $6.3 billion.

Binance stated that the company is increasing investments in artificial intelligence-based threat detection systems and is working on creating a fund for security research and launching joint initiatives with leading companies in the AI field. The cryptocurrency exchange promised to reimburse losses to all clients whose funds were stolen as a result of the attack.

'This should not have happened, and we apologize for the concern, disruptions, and uncertainty our users, partners, and the entire industry faced,' Binance reported.

Earlier, the FBI attributed responsibility to a North Korean hacker group, but North Korea rejected these accusations.