Binance Confirms $63.4 Billion Hack Involving Modified Homebrew Packages and AI Tools
Written with artificial intelligence.
A preliminary investigation by Binance revealed that a security breach on October 29 involved approximately $63.4 billion in digital assets. The exchange has frozen or intercepted around $28.5 billion and claims to have covered 98% of affected token assets.
Incident Overview
On November 3, Binance released findings from a preliminary investigation into a significant security breach that occurred on October 29. The breach has been linked to approximately $63.4 billion worth of digital assets, with Binance reporting that about $28.5 billion has been frozen or intercepted to date. The exchange stated that it will absorb the losses itself and confirmed that by October 31, it had replenished 98% of the impacted token assets.
Attack Methodology
Investigators found that the attackers employed several tactics to infiltrate Binance's systems. These included:
- Conducting fake recruitment interviews to gain trust
- Utilizing tampered Homebrew installation packages
- Leveraging internal AI tools to control employee devices
Through these methods, the attackers gained access to internal wallet signature services and executed unauthorized transfers of assets such as XRP, SOL, BTC, and ETH from hot wallets using Ethereum's EIP-7702 authorization mechanism.
Responsibility and Next Steps
The FBI has attributed the breach to North Korean actors. In response to this incident, Binance has already begun rebuilding the affected systems and plans to engage an independent third party for further review.