Binance estimates $6.3B impact from security incident
Binance put the incident’s estimated impact at $6.3 billion, said about $3 billion was frozen and suspended deposits and withdrawals during its investigation.
The Blocktape Editors 2 min read 4f24ad
Binance said Friday, Oct. 30, that a security incident had an estimated $6.3 billion impact, and that it had suspended deposits and withdrawals while investigating. The exchange has not said that all of the estimated amount was lost: its update describes the figure as the incident’s “total impact.” The Associated Press report said Binance had not explicitly confirmed that funds were pilfered.
How did the incident happen?
Binance’s preliminary investigation suggests an attacker may have compromised a DevOps engineer’s laptop, then used access to a service container to submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions, the company said in its security incident update. Binance said it had found no evidence that wallet private keys were leaked.
The company said it revoked authorization for the affected address and temporarily stopped deposits and withdrawals while it completed security checks. Binance also said it was working with law enforcement and blockchain intelligence partners to trace and recover funds.
How much has Binance frozen?
Binance said it had worked with blockchain partners to freeze about $3 billion in affected assets on-chain, against the estimated $6.3 billion total impact. The company did not explain in the update how it calculated the total impact or identify the assets involved.
Binance said user funds were safe and that it would cover all losses using its Secure Asset Fund for Users, known as SAFU, and company funds. The exchange did not give a timeline for completing the recovery effort.
When will Binance publish more details?
Binance said it would publish a technical post-mortem after the investigation is complete and the facts are fully verified. It also said it would publish an updated proof of reserves after remediation is complete.
Deposits and withdrawals remain temporarily suspended while Binance conducts checks and works with partners, according to the company. The next update is expected through Binance’s official channels.
Source material
- The Associated Press report — apnews.com
- security incident update — binance.com