Binance inches closer to tracking hacker behind $570M exploit

Sahana Kiran
Binance
Source – Unsplash

2022 was all about bankruptcies, the bear market, and hacks. An array of cross-chain bridges succumbed to attacks this year. Amidst this, prominent crypto exchange Binance’s BNB tokens worth $570 million were wiped out clean. The hacker reportedly exploited a cross-chain bridge related to its BNB Chain. This occurred earlier this month and now the exchange seemed to be on the verge of capturing the hacker.

Appearing in a recent interview, Changpeng Zhao aka CZ revealed that law enforcement had given the exchange information about the hacker. He pointed out that Binance was “narrowing down” the individual or group behind the exploit.

The hack was considered to be immensely detrimental. However, CZ noted that the blockchain was able to freeze nearly 80 to 90 percent of it. Therefore, the actual loss was more diminutive. This was also due to the timely pausing of the activity of the BNB Chain.

Will the involvement of law enforcement become pertinent in the crypto space?

The crypto-verse started out as an entity independent of centralized systems. But the ever-surging number of hacks and attacks prompted government agencies to veer in. In October alone, the crypto-verse encountered over $700 million through DeFi protocols. October even emerged as the month with the biggest crypto scams and hacks.

Elaborating on the involvement of law enforcement, CZ stated,

“We’re still actually chasing … helping [authorities] to chase the bad players, working with law enforcement around the globe. Working with law enforcement is one of the ways that we can try to make the space safe.”

Additionally, it should be noted that throughout the year North Korean hacks have been behind some of the biggest hacks. For instance, Ronin Bridge, as well as Harmony’s Horizon Bridge hacks, were both traced back to North Korea.

Since Binance was taking a while to figure out details pertaining to the hacker, several in the community speculated that North Korea could be behind this as well.