Binance issues statement on security incident with preliminary losses of $6.3 billion
The total impact of the security incident at cryptocurrency exchange Binance is preliminarily estimated at about $6.3 billion.
This is stated in the company’s statement. Binance’s initial investigation suggests that the 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. So far, no evidence of a leak of wallet private keys has been found. Once the investigation is complete and all facts have been fully verified, the company will publish a detailed technical report on the incident.
Together with blockchain industry partners, Binance has taken steps to freeze the affected assets. About $3 billion in assets have been frozen on-chain so far.
Binance will cover all losses in full from the Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) and the company’s own funds. According to the company, user funds are safe. Deposits have not been affected by the incident and continue to operate normally. After remediation is complete, Binance will also release an updated Proof of Reserves report.
As immediate precautionary measures, Binance has:
- temporarily suspended withdrawals while it conducts a comprehensive security review of the withdrawal service and related addresses;
- revoked the authorization of the affected address;
- engaged law enforcement and blockchain analytics partners to trace the movement of funds and secure their recovery.
“Our teams are working around the clock to ensure a safe and comprehensive remediation of the incident. We are working closely with law enforcement to identify the perpetrators and hold them accountable,” the statement reads.
