In a shocking turn of events, cyber attackers have cashed in millions from unsuspecting Binance users by exploiting a promotional Google Chrome plugin known as Aggr, which steals user cookies. Once these cookies were stolen, the hackers could bypass both passwords and two-factor authentication, giving them free rein over victim’s accounts.
One such victim, an unfortunate Chinese trader going by the pseudonym CryptoNakamao, lost a staggering $1 million via this scam. On May 24, CryptoNakamao noticed unsolicited trading activity on his Binance account when he logged in to inspect Bitcoin prices. To his dismay, by the time he obtained help from Binance, the hacker had already cleaned out all his funds.
Interestingly, the hacker operated by using the illicitly obtained cookies from the Aggr plugin. This data gave the hacker access to hijack active user sessions. Although the attacker couldn’t directly withdraw funds owing to 2FA, he generated profits through manipulated and leveraged cross-trading, thereby driving up prices of low liquidity pairs.
CryptoNakamao has pointed a finger at Binance for this unfortunate incident, blaming them for not taking adequate security measures, especially concerning the unusually high trading activity. The trader further alleges that Binance did not heed his timely complaint or take any considerable action to prevent such fraudulent activity.
CryptoNakamao also revealed that Binance was aware of the nefarious Chrome plugin and had an ongoing internal investigation regarding the issue. Yet, despite knowing the hacker’s address and the extent of the scam, Binance failed to alert its traders or put any preventative measures into place.