Breaking: Binance lost $40.7 million to massive hack attack
|- The worlds largest exchange confirmed the security breach.
- Deposits and withdrawals are suspended.
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, experienced, fell victim to a massive hack attack. Hackers got away with Bitcoins worth of $40.7 million along with user API keys, 2FA codes, and potentially other data, according to the official announcement made by the company.
The large-scale security breach was discovered on May May 7, 2019 at 17:15 UTC. The hackers 7000 BTC in one transaction from Binance’s hot wallet, while other wallets remain unaffected. The company emphasised that the hot wallet contained only 2% of all it BTC holdings.
“The hackers used a variety of techniques, including phishing, viruses and other attacks. We are still concluding all possible methods used. There may also be additional affected accounts that have not been identified yet,” they said in the announcement.
The exchange froze funds withdrawals after the internal security system spotted a suspicious transaction after it was executed. Binance’s CEO Zhao said that the exchange was undertaking unscheduled maintenance before the security breach as officially admitted.
“Have to perform some unscheduled server maintenance that will impact deposits and withdrawals for a couple hours. No need to FUD. Funds are #safu.,” he tweeted
Now the company will undergo an internal investigation to find out the vulnerability. In the meantime, deposits and withdrawals will remain suspended, while trading functionality will be restored soon.
Information on these pages contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Markets and instruments profiled on this page are for informational purposes only and should not in any way come across as a recommendation to buy or sell in these assets. You should do your own thorough research before making any investment decisions. FXStreet does not in any way guarantee that this information is free from mistakes, errors, or material misstatements. It also does not guarantee that this information is of a timely nature. Investing in Open Markets involves a great deal of risk, including the loss of all or a portion of your investment, as well as emotional distress. All risks, losses and costs associated with investing, including total loss of principal, are your responsibility. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of FXStreet nor its advertisers.