Hackers steal over $40 million worth of bitcoin from one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges

Hackers have stolen over $40 million worth of bitcoin from Binance crypto echane, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, the company said on Tuesday.

Binance announced that a “large scale security breach” was discovered earlier on May 7, finding that malicious actors were able to access user API keys, two-factor authentication codes and “potentially other info,” the exchange’s CEO, Changpeng Zhao, said in a letter. As a result, they were able to withdraw roughly $41 million in bitcoin from the exchange, according to a transaction published in the security notice.

he attackers used several techniques to carry out the heist, including phishing and viruses.

“The hackers had the patience to wait and execute well-orchestrated actions through multiple seemingly independent accounts at the most opportune time,” Zhao wrote. “The transaction is structured in a way that passed our existing security checks. Once executed, the withdrawal triggered various alarms in our system. We stopped all withdrawals immediately after that.”

Zhao warned that as the attackers were able to steal some user information, they “may still control certain user accounts and may use those to influence prices.”

The fund consists of 10 percent of all trading fees absorbed by the exchange, and was initially launched to protect Binance’s users “in extreme cases,” according to a previous notice. It is stored in its own cold wallet.

“In this difficult time, we strive to maintain transparency and would be appreciative of your support,” Zhao said Tuesday.

He concluded the note by saying he would participate in a previously scheduled Twitter “ask-me-anything.”