October 31, 2026
They didn’t break the encryption. They got the keys — $6.3 billion says it’s about the keys
On Wednesday, attackers emptied Binance’s hot wallets across ten blockchains in about twenty minutes.
By Dylienne Every
Roughly $6.3 billion, the largest crypto theft on record (not good, but impressive). Investigators point at North Korea, and the most likely way in was the system that signs Binance's transactions.
Nobody broke the encryption. They got to the keys.
That. Does. Not. Sit. Well. Those breaches made the news. The next one may not. Recording encrypted traffic costs almost nothing.
Storage is cheap, patience is free, and the best-funded attackers have plenty of both. They don't need to break your encryption today.
They only need to keep the files until they can.
So here's a challenge.
Pick your most sensitive data flow and answer some questions honestly: Who holds the keys?
How do we protect these keys for good?
Seriously.