Binance relied on AI to fight fraud before hackers exploited internal tool in $6 billion theft

Hackers exploited Binance's internal artificial intelligence tools to compromise engineers before stealing $6.34 billion in cryptocurrency, the exchange disclosed. In its Nov. 3 security report, Binance said attackers used a compromised employee computer and an internal AI tool on Oct. 20 to take control of two engineers responsible for its wallet infrastructure. The attackers subsequently obtained access to a container deployment permission token, which helped them penetrate the exchange's wallet-signing operations on Oct. 29 and initiate unauthorized transactions across several blockchain networks. The disclosure puts AI at the center of one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts on record, adding to concerns about how increasingly connected AI systems can introduce new vulnerabilities into corporate infrastructure. Binance's investigation does not establish that an AI model autonomously planned or executed the theft.