North Korea-linked hacking group TraderTraitor gained access to Binance's systems about eight weeks before the $6.3 billion exploit on Oct. 29, according to an estimate by non-profit cybersecurity organization Security Alliance (SEAL).
In a Thursday report, SEAL said the group gained access to Binance's systems sometime in September, adding that threat actors can navigate these systems with a “high degree of stealth over prolonged periods of time” after initial intrusion.
SEAL identified at least four “front companies” associated with TraderTraitor's fake recruitment campaigns in 2026, including citalab.net, citalab.com, bitfit.io and oddium.io.
Similar patterns in other crypto hacks
SEAL's analysis pointed to similar multi-stage intrusion patterns in other high-profile crypto hacks. It estimated that attackers had about six weeks of access before the $388 million Bitget hack, six weeks of access to LayerZero before the vulnerability that led to the $293 million Kelp DAO exploit, and about three weeks before conducting the $24 million AFX exploit.
Cointelegraph contacted Binance for comment on the estimates but did not receive a response by publication.
Binance's account of the breach
Binance attributed the $6.3 billion hack to a fake job interview that enabled hackers to compromise an employee device and steal credentials to breach the exchange's wallet infrastructure.
The exchange traced the attack campaign back to June, when a separate employee's device was compromised. Binance detected the incident and replaced the device, but said attackers had already gathered information about its team and wallet infrastructure, according to a Tuesday X post.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation attributed the attack to North Korea's TraderTraitor in a Saturday report. Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, dismissed the accusations.
