The biggest financial robbery ever recorded started with a job interview that was never real.
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has revealed how hackers made off with $6.34 billion last week. It began months earlier, when a software engineer whose LinkedIn profile mentioned his Binance work was contacted by someone posing as a “Project Director” at another company.
There was a first-round interview with a fake HR representative. Then a second round, on video, with a man claiming to be the chief executive of a company that did not exist. During that call the engineer was asked to download an “assignment”. It was loaded with malicious code.
AI tool turned against them
From that one infected laptop, the attackers worked their way into Binance’s internal AI tool and then into the wallet-signing systems that authorise transactions. They used that access to push through 50 unauthorised transfers.
Binance said it blocked 57 suspected North Korea-linked attempts this year alone, including fake job offers, malware disguised as developer tools, poisoned browser extensions and dodgy video-conferencing apps.
Pyongyang denies it
The FBI has pinned the heist on TraderTraitor, a hacking group linked to North Korea, which has used the same recruiter trick before. North Korea denied involvement through a statement from Kim Yo-jong, sister of leader Kim Jong-un, calling the accusation a “political provocation”.
Binance says it has frozen or blocked about $2.85 billion of the stolen funds and is repaying every customer who lost money.
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