Key Takeaways
- • The FBI said Thursday it has seized or restrained more than $1.2 billion of cryptocurrency stolen from Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, last month, according to the Associated Press.
- • The roughly $6.3 billion theft from Binance is regarded as the largest crypto heist in history, and the FBI has previously attributed it to the North Korean hacking group TraderTraitor.
- • The U.S. government and private sector have together frozen more than $2.7 billion of the stolen funds; the Justice Department has obtained court authorization to seize or restrain $1.2 billion of that total.
- • Recovered funds will typically go through a forfeiture claim before a judge, who will determine who has a legitimate claim to them.
- • The FBI separately blamed North Korea for a social engineering scheme, known as FaceStealer, that officials say stole $400 million in cryptocurrency over the last 18 months.
Summary
The FBI said Thursday that it had seized or restrained more than $1.2 billion in cryptocurrency reported stolen last month from Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, according to the Associated Press. The theft of about $6.3 billion is regarded as the biggest crypto heist in history. The FBI has previously attributed the breach to TraderTraitor, a North Korean hacking group.
According to the report, the U.S. government and private sector have together frozen more than $2.7 billion of the stolen funds. The Justice Department said it has now obtained court authorization to seize or restrain more than $1.2 billion of that total. Typically in such cases, the U.S. government files a claim of forfeiture with a judge, who then determines who has a legitimate claim to the recovered assets.
On the same day, the FBI blamed North Korea for a separate social engineering scheme, known as FaceStealer, which officials say resulted in the theft of $400 million in cryptocurrency over the last 18 months. The scheme combines the hijacking of popular messaging apps with the recording of deepfake videos.
U.S. officials have repeatedly accused North Korea of using cyber schemes to generate funds for its regime, including its illicit weapons program.
According to the report, the U.S. government and private sector have together frozen more than $2.7 billion of the stolen funds. The Justice Department said it has now obtained court authorization to seize or restrain more than $1.2 billion of that total. Typically in such cases, the U.S. government files a claim of forfeiture with a judge, who then determines who has a legitimate claim to the recovered assets.
On the same day, the FBI blamed North Korea for a separate social engineering scheme, known as FaceStealer, which officials say resulted in the theft of $400 million in cryptocurrency over the last 18 months. The scheme combines the hijacking of popular messaging apps with the recording of deepfake videos.
U.S. officials have repeatedly accused North Korea of using cyber schemes to generate funds for its regime, including its illicit weapons program.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.