Downloaded a File and Lost 8 Trillion Won: The Sharp Move Behind North Korea's Hack?

[Reporter Hong Young-jae: Binance, which suffered damages in the scale of 8 trillion won, confirmed through an internal investigation that the cyberattack by North Korean hackers was methodically carried out in stages starting four months before the incident.]

Back in June, North Korean hackers first stole the personal information of Binance developers to scout out their targets.

Then in September, a job offer came in for one of the developers via a recruitment platform.

An ex-FBI investigator who was interviewed by SBS analyzed that the hackers likely scouted their targets meticulously beforehand.

[Nick Carlsen, North Korea Analyst at TRM Labs: The hackers approached this developer because they had done a lot of research beforehand, and they probably already knew to some extent that the developer had access to the systems they were trying to infiltrate.]

After getting close to the developer by even sharing social media accounts, the North Korean hacker demanded that they download a program under the pretext of undergoing a test during the final interview, impersonating the CEO.

The file had malware hidden inside it.

Using the infected developer's computer, the hackers prowled through the exchange's internal servers and ultimately succeeded in a hacking scheme worth 8 trillion won.

[Moon Jong-hyun, Head of Genians Security Center: Binance probably didn't have weak security. The most core point is that this attack is making its way in through people. Right now, attackers—especially state-sponsored hacking groups, including North Korea, and many advanced hacking technicians—are targeting people.]

Binance stated that it detected and blocked 57 cyberattacks suspected to be linked to North Korea this year alone, but it was left completely helpless against the cunning infiltration tactics of North Korean hackers who exploit human trust and psychology.

Lured by a Fake Job Interview... Inside the 8 Trillion Won Hack (November 4, 2026, 8 News)

Reported by Hong Young-jae | Producer: Bae Jun-hwi | Cinematography: Joo Yong-jin | Video Editing: Lee Seung-hee | Design: Park Tae-young | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.