Analysts suspect the North Korean-linked Lazarus Group may be behind the massive cyberattack, as Binance begins recovering stolen assets and promises to cover customers' losses.

North Korea is suspected of being behind a $6.3 billion cryptocurrency theft targeting Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, in what could become the biggest hack in history.

Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs says several elements of the attack resemble previous cyber incidents linked to North Korea, with analysts pointing to the Lazarus Group, also known as TraderTraitor, as a possible suspect.

Dr Edward Howell, a North Korean foreign policy expert at the University of Oxford, said cyber warfare has become an important financial tool for the country, with an estimated 40% to 50% of its weapons programmes funded through cyber and cryptocurrency-related activities.

Binance announced that it had begun recovering affected assets and pledged to cover all customer losses using company funds. The exchange said it had reserved more than $6.3 billion to address the incident, matching the estimated value of the stolen cryptocurrency. Approximately $3 billion in assets had already been frozen or protected.

Binance co-chief executive Richard Teng said preliminary investigations suggested the attack may have started through a compromised laptop belonging to a DevOps engineer. He described it as a complex operation involving multiple security breaches.

Cybersecurity experts warn that recovering the remaining funds could take months, as attackers may move the cryptocurrency through thousands of transactions and different digital currencies to conceal its origin.

The incident has renewed concerns about Binance's security, particularly after a previous breach in May 2019, when hackers stole 7,000 Bitcoin worth approximately $41 million at the time.

The latest attack also affected market confidence, with Bitcoin falling by around 5%. Binance, which has more than 300 million registered users and an average daily trading volume of approximately $95 billion, is cooperating with law enforcement agencies to investigate the incident and identify those responsible.

North Korea has repeatedly been accused of using cryptocurrency theft to finance its weapons programmes, although it has not acknowledged responsibility for the attacks attributed to the Lazarus Group.

A little more informed. A little more connected.