Binance Appoints New CFO After $6.3 Billion Cyberheist

The cryptocurrency exchange Binance Holdings Ltd. appointed Justin Yek as its new Chief Financial Officer following the largest cyberheist in history. The security breach, which occurred on October 29, resulted in the theft of $6.3 billion. Binance reported that the attack began months prior through fake job recruitment efforts and malware embedded in software downloads targeting engineers.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation attributed the attack to a North Korean hacking group known as TraderTraitor, though the government of North Korea has denied the allegations. Following the theft, hackers splintered funds into more than 10,000 wallets. While stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle froze approximately half of the assets, nearly $3 billion remains under hacker control. Decentralized services including THORChain and Wasabi Wallet facilitated the laundering of funds, with THORChain processing over $46 million despite FBI requests to block the activity.

In the wake of the breach, Binance froze withdrawals for several days, later reporting a net withdrawal of $3.6 billion immediately after accounts were unfrozen. The company pledged to bear the full financial impact of the losses to ensure users are not affected. Amidst this instability, CFO Kaiser Ng stepped down to pursue a new venture. Co-CEO Yi He described the departure as a long-planned transition that had been in place for six months.