Binance had to go through one more hacking attempt the hacker has stolen over 7,000 bitcoin units. What makes this even more serious is the fact that Binance is world’s largest crypto exchange by trade volume. The CEO of Binance stated that on May 7, a successful security breach attempt was made where these hackers got access to user’s API keys, along with two-factor authentication codes and other data. With the help of this information at their disposal, they were able to loot around $41 million in the form of bitcoin, the CEO informed.
Before this statement was made to the media, the CEO of Binance had tweeted saying that the crypto exchange was conducting some unscheduled server maintenance activities. He also said that the exchange will be able to provide a more detailed update soon. The crypto exchange is yet to find out the accounts which got affected during the hacking attempt.
However, the company officials said that the security breach has affected hot wallets only. These hot wallets are responsible for holding around 2 percent of the exchange’s total bitcoin holdings. The CEO of Binance said all those wallets except hot wallets are safe and unaffected.
He added
“The hackers had the patience to wait, and execute well-prepared actions through multiple seemingly independent accounts at the most opportune time. The transaction is structured in a way that passed our existing security checks. It was unfortunate that we were not able to block this withdrawal before it was executed.”
He informed that after the knowledge of the incidents, quick steps were taken and the exchange activities were frozen. Due to this unwanted breach, a few operations on the Binance exchange platform like deposits and withdrawals will be halted for the week. Trading will be restarted; however, as he warned, the hackers might still are in control of a few accounts. The exchange will need week’s time to check the security system and data accurately, in-depth.
The exchange has made it clear that its users will not have to suffer due to losses as it has Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU fund) in place. SAFU will cover all the losses. The CEO said that it is a tough situation for the exchange and even in this time, the company is trying to maintain the transparency and would appreciate the support too.
