Hackers Just Committed Largest Crypto Heist In History As Cybersecurity Fears Reach Fever Pitch

North Korean hackers allegedly stole approximately $6.3 billion from cryptocurrency exchange Binance on Thursday in a record-breaking cyberattack that exposed vulnerabilities in the digital asset industry amid growing concerns over artificial intelligence-powered cybercrime.

The attack drained billions of dollars from Binance-controlled wallets in roughly 20 minutes, according to blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs, which attributed the breach to North Korea’s state-sponsored TraderTraitor hacking unit. The massive theft unfolded as cybersecurity researchers warned that North Korean operatives were increasingly using AI to impersonate employees, develop malicious software and conduct sophisticated cyberattacks against financial institutions and cryptocurrency companies.

“Binance’s initial investigation suggests that the security incident may involve a compromised DevOps engineer’s laptop, which allowed an attacker to gain access to a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions,” the company said in an official statement Friday.

The company said it found no evidence that wallet private keys were compromised, although its investigation uncovered additional potential points of intrusion.

TRM Labs reported that approximately $6.36 billion in cryptocurrency moved from Binance wallets across ten blockchains, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and Tron.

The firm said the attack appeared to involve compromised infrastructure responsible for authorizing cryptocurrency transactions, allowing the perpetrators to initiate unauthorized transfers across multiple blockchain networks.

Investigators also identified evidence that preparations began at least 36 hours before the theft, including transactions used to test the malicious code eventually deployed against Binance wallets.

TRM Labs attributed the operation to TraderTraitor, a North Korean hacking group previously linked to the $1.5 billion cryptocurrency theft from Bybit in February 2025.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation attributed the Bybit attack to North Korea, identifying TraderTraitor as responsible for stealing the digital assets.