The attack was more complex than first known, the Post reports. It began in June. It used tampered software, stolen logins and fake interviews.

In June, a Binance employee downloaded tampered software online that had been disguised as a popular AI coding tool, the Post says. Binance's security team detected the malware and replaced the device and all employee credentials, the company said. But the attackers had already learned about the employee and his colleagues' roles.

In September, a second engineer, who works on wallets at the company, was contacted through a job-search platform by a person posing as a project director, the Post reports. After two interviews, he was asked to download a coding assignment, TechCrunch reports. When opened, it contained malicious code that compromised his work laptop.

Binance said its security tools did not detect that malware, TechCrunch reports.

The hack led the world's largest crypto exchange to suspend customer withdrawals across its network, TechCrunch says. The FBI and blockchain investigators have blamed North Korea, which has long been accused of crypto thefts to fund its nuclear weapons program, TechCrunch reports.

Researchers have warned for years about long-running scams like this one, which can go on for months, TechCrunch says.

Toward the end of the second interview, the engineer was asked to download the assignment onto his work computer, the Post reports. The foothold let the hackers reach a tool that could take over the work computers of two other engineers, TechCrunch says.

TechCrunch calls the theft a record. The Post calls it the largest bank heist in history.

What we know: Binance says hackers posing as recruiters got malware onto an engineer's laptop, opening the way for the theft.
What we don't: How much of the stolen crypto can be recovered.