The FBI blames North Korea for stealing $6 billion from Binance and urges crypto firms to block transactions linked to the stolen funds.

The FBI has named North Korea as the party behind the theft of more than $6 billion in virtual assets from the crypto exchange Binance, on or about October 29, 2026. The bureau published its findings in a public alert. The FBI specifically blames the North Korea-linked APT “TraderTraitor,” also tracked as Lazarus Group and APT38.

Binance hasn’t named a culprit, but the blockchain analysis firm TRM has. It was the first to attribute the attack to TraderTraitor, and Chainalysis also said it’s highly confident in that finding.

“The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is releasing information advising the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) was responsible for the theft of more than $6 billion USD in virtual assets from cryptocurrency exchange Binance, on or about October 29, 2026. The FBI refers to this specific North Korean malicious cyber activity as “TraderTraitor.”” reads the FBI’s statement.

“The FBI, together with partners at the USSS and IRS-CI, has observed TraderTraitor actors converting stolen assets primarily into Ethereum (ETH). It is expected these assets will then be further laundered by converting them using DeFi and instant swap services as they prepare them for further laundering stages.”

Attackers used access from an engineer’s laptop to reach a service container and send unauthorized withdrawal requests. Binance says it has found no evidence that attackers stole any wallet private keys.

The FBI, along with the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) and IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), has spotted TraderTraitor actors turning the stolen assets mostly into Ethereum (ETH). The agencies expect the next step to be more laundering, by swapping the funds through DeFi and instant swap services as the actors prepare them for later stages. Instant swap services are aptly named.

The alert is aimed at private companies as well as law enforcement agencies. The FBI, USSS and IRS-CI are asking several types of businesses to help stop the money laundering. These include THORNode operators, who support the THORChain network, RPC node operators, who provide apps with access to blockchains, instant crypto exchanges, DeFi platforms, blockchain analytics companies and other crypto service providers.

The request is clear: these companies should block any transactions involving the wallet addresses used by TraderTraitor, including funds that can be traced back to them. According to the FBI, these addresses have received stolen funds and are controlled by North Korean attackers or are closely linked to them. The full list of addresses is included in the alert.

If you run any of these services, the first job is to check your blocklists against that list. The second is to look at transaction flows that touch those addresses indirectly, since the FBI says to block anything “derived from” them, not just direct transfers. Blockchain analytics firms are named for a reason, because tracing derived funds is their work.

The FBI says it’s committed to protecting the virtual asset community by identifying, mitigating and disrupting North Korea’s illicit cybercrime and virtual asset theft.

“The FBI maintains its commitment to protecting the virtual asset community by identifying, mitigating, and disrupting North Korea’s illicit cybercrime and virtual asset theft activities.” concludes the report. “If you have any information to provide, please contact your local FBI field office or FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.”

TRM says the attacker moved about $6.36 billion out of Binance wallets on ten blockchains on October 29, most of it in roughly 20 minutes starting at 20:05 UTC. That makes it the largest crypto theft on record, about four times the $1.5 billion Bybit hack of February 2025.

“On October 29, 2026, an attacker moved approximately USD 6.36 billion out of Binance wallets on ten blockchains, most of it in about 20 minutes starting at 20:05 UTC. That makes this the largest crypto theft on record, about four times the USD 1.5 billion Bybit hack of February 2025. Binance has confirmed a security incident and suspended withdrawals on several networks.” TRM said. “TRM attributes the attack to TraderTraitor, North Korea’s elite hacking unit, based on robust on and off-chain intelligence. We make this judgment with high confidence. TRM is tracking the funds and alerting partners through the Beacon Network.”

Freezing the money only went partway. Tether, Circle, Ripple and World Liberty Financial froze about $2.67 billion in stablecoins, and Arbitrum’s Security Council froze 8,426 ETH and 74.6 million ARB, for roughly $2.7 billion in all. But the attacker raced the freezes by selling USDT to market makers and borrowing ETH against USDT on Aave. It now holds more than 420,000 ETH and 18,270 BTC, about $2.4 billion beyond any issuer’s reach.

The early freeze numbers were messy too, Tether and Circle froze approximately $1.79 billion in stablecoins associated with the suspicious transfers in the initial reports. Those amounts describe different moments, and you shouldn’t add them without checking whether they cover distinct assets. A freeze works on tokens that have an issuer to call, and Ether and Bitcoin don’t.

Below is the link to my interview regarding the Binance case for Italian state television.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtvhBA9TdPo

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Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, Binance)

Binance links a $6.3 billion crypto theft to a compromised DevOps laptop, with North Korean hackers blamed by blockchain analysts.

Binance was investigating suspicious transfers that early estimates put at up to $5.8 billion. A day later, multiple media outlets reported that the largest cryptocurrency exchange had linked the theft of about $6.3 billion to a DevOps engineer’s compromised laptop. Billions had moved out of wallets linked to the exchange.

According to The Block, blockchain analyst Spreek identified approximately $3.55 billion in incoming transfers to an initially unidentified wallet.

“Onchain data flagged by analyst Spreek shows about $3.55 billion in incoming transfers to the unlabeled wallet, with nearly $900 million subsequently moved across other wallets.” The Block reports. “Conor Grogan, a senior director and product leader at Coinbase, says the amount is up to $5.8 billion.”

Coinbase executive Conor Grogan initially estimated that the total value of the movements could reach $5.8 billion.

Those figures came from blockchain tracking and differing estimates, so they didn’t necessarily show the amount stolen.

Binance pointed out that customer funds were safe, while co-founder Changpeng Zhao, widely known as CZ, said the activity appeared to be a hack. Zhao no longer manages Binance’s platform, but said he expected customers’ funds to be fully covered.

The company said its user funds were “completely safe.”

“Our teams are aware of reports of a potential security issue and are actively investigating. User funds are completely safe. Our security teams are reviewing all relevant information with urgency, and we will provide updates through official Binance channels as soon as we have verified information.” the company states. “Users should remain cautious of scams and should not trust unofficial links, messages, or requests for account information.”

That assurance is important, but it doesn’t replace a technical explanation of how the transfers occurred or independent confirmation of the final impact.

“Our initial investigation suggests this security incident may have started with a compromised DevOps engineer’s laptop. That gave an attacker access to a service container, where they submitted unauthorized withdrawal transactions.” Binance Co-CEO Richard Teng explained.

“To be clear: the attacker did not simply use one engineer’s permissions, and this was not a single “one-click” action. It involved a more complex attack process. Our investigation has not attributed responsibility to any individual.”

I want to speak to you directly about what happened.

Bottom line – your money is safe, and we're covering every loss.

Our initial investigation suggests this security incident may have started with a compromised DevOps engineer's laptop. That gave an attacker access to a…

— Richard Teng (@_RichardTeng) October 30, 2026

Attackers used access from an engineer’s laptop to reach a service container and send unauthorized withdrawal requests. Binance says it has found no evidence that attackers stole any wallet private keys.

Binance also said it had found “additional points of breach” and was still investigating. Co-CEO Richard Teng said the investigation had not identified anyone responsible. After the attack, Binance suspended deposits and withdrawals to carry out security checks, cancelled the permissions linked to the affected address, and began working with blockchain analysis firms and law enforcement to track the stolen funds.

Binance says it will cover all losses using its SAFU fund and its own money, and that customer funds are safe. The company also plans to publish an updated Proof of Reserves once it has completed the recovery work. This commitment does not replace a detailed technical explanation or independent confirmation of the full impact of the attack.

Binance hasn’t named a culprit, but the blockchain analysis firm TRM has. It attributes the attack to TraderTraitor, a North Korean state-backed unit also tracked as Lazarus Group and APT38, and Chainalysis says it’s highly confident in that finding.

Our investigators observed funds stolen by DPRK in last month's Bitget exploit commingling with funds stolen from Binance.

We have a high degree of confidence that DPRK is responsible for the $6.4 billion hack of Binance. https://t.co/xj9dQYcbKr

— Chainalysis (@chainalysis) October 30, 2026

TRM says the attacker moved about $6.36 billion out of Binance wallets on ten blockchains on October 29, most of it in roughly 20 minutes starting at 20:05 UTC. That makes it the largest crypto theft on record, about four times the $1.5 billion Bybit hack of February 2025.

“On October 29, 2026, an attacker moved approximately USD 6.36 billion out of Binance wallets on ten blockchains, most of it in about 20 minutes starting at 20:05 UTC. That makes this the largest crypto theft on record, about four times the USD 1.5 billion Bybit hack of February 2025. Binance has confirmed a security incident and suspended withdrawals on several networks.” TRM said. “TRM attributes the attack to TraderTraitor, North Korea’s elite hacking unit, based on robust on and off-chain intelligence. We make this judgment with high confidence. TRM is tracking the funds and alerting partners through the Beacon Network.”

Freezing the money only went partway. Tether, Circle, Ripple and World Liberty Financial froze about $2.67 billion in stablecoins, and Arbitrum’s Security Council froze 8,426 ETH and 74.6 million ARB, for roughly $2.7 billion in all. But the attacker raced the freezes by selling USDT to market makers and borrowing ETH against USDT on Aave. It now holds more than 420,000 ETH and 18,270 BTC, about $2.4 billion beyond any issuer’s reach.

The early freeze numbers were messy too, Tether and Circle froze approximately $1.79 billion in stablecoins associated with the suspicious transfers in the initial reports. Those amounts describe different moments, and you shouldn’t add them without checking whether they cover distinct assets. A freeze works on tokens that have an issuer to call, and Ether and Bitcoin don’t.

Hot wallets help explain how this type of theft can happen. They store cryptocurrency in systems connected to the internet, allowing exchanges to process withdrawals quickly. But this also makes strong security controls essential. Investigators still need to determine who initiated the transfers, whether they were authorized, whether attackers gained control of the wallets, and whose funds were stolen.

Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao, who no longer runs the company, said the activity looked like a hack and expected customers to be fully compensated. Large transfers alone do not prove a cyberattack, but the findings that emerged later provided strong evidence of a breach.

Customers also need to be careful. Attackers often exploit the confusion after a major incident by spreading fake announcements, pretending to be support staff, and directing users to fraudulent websites. Use only Binance’s official channels, avoid unexpected links, and never share passwords, authentication codes, or wallet recovery phrases in response to unsolicited messages. Security teams should also watch for phishing emails that use the incident to pressure employees into verifying their accounts.

The lesson goes beyond Binance. A public blockchain records every transaction, but it cannot show who authorized it or how attackers gained access. Blockchain transparency does not guarantee operational security.

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Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, Binance)

U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) adds Arista VeloCloud Orchestrator flaw to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) added a critical Arista VeloCloud Orchestrator flaw, tracked as CVE-2026-114625 (CVSS score of 9.4), to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.

VeloCloud Orchestrator (VCO) is the central management system for VMware SD-WAN, a technology that helps companies securely connect offices, data centers, cloud services, and remote sites over wide-area networks.

It is now associated with Arista Networks, which acquired VMware’s SD-WAN business. The orchestrator gives network administrators a central place to configure, monitor, and manage the network.

The flaw is a SQL Injection issue that affects on-premises VeloCloud Orchestrator (VCO). It allows an authenticated user to gain operator privileges and impersonate a local superuser operator account. This could give a remote attacker access to internal functions that should not be remotely available, potentially compromising the system and the data it manages. Hosted VCO versions, including Dedicated, were also affected but have already been patched.

“VeloCloud Orchestrator (VCO) on-prem has a security issue where this issue may allow a remote attacker to access privileged internal functionality and impact the VCO host. Successful exploitation may compromise the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the orchestrator and data managed by the orchestrator.” reads the advisory. “On an affected system, any authenticated user can gain operator privileges and masquerade as a local “superuser operator” user. This includes access to functionality that is intended for internal use only and which is not intended to be remotely accessible.”

VeloCloud Orchestrator (VCO) is vulnerable by default. An attacker needs access to its web interface and a valid account. Even an account with the lowest permission level, Enterprise Read Only, is enough. No configuration change can prevent this exposure.

Administrators should check web access logs for unusual requests, encoded text, attempts to access internal services, or an unusually high number of requests. They should also block these IP addresses linked to attacks:

• 74.82.197.86
• 38.54.50.151

If an attack is suspected, administrators should save web, application, system and database logs, along with relevant file timestamps, before starting recovery, if possible.

According to Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 22-01: Reducing the Significant Risk of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities, FCEB agencies have to address the identified vulnerabilities by the due date to protect their networks against attacks exploiting the flaws in the catalog.

Experts also recommend that private organizations review the Catalog and address the vulnerabilities in their infrastructure.

CISA orders federal agencies to fix the flaw by October 26, 2026.

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Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, CISA)