What is Binance?
Binance is like a big bank for crypto.
Crypto is digital money. Like Bitcoin.
Many people in the world use Binance to buy, sell and keep their crypto.
What is ShinyHunters?
ShinyHunters is a name of a group of bad people on the internet.
They are called hackers.
Hackers try to steal information from computers.
What did they say?
One day, somebody used the name ShinyHunters and said:
"We have stolen Binance data! We have 335 million records! Give us $900,000 or we will show the data to everybody!"
They said the data has:
- Names
- Emails
- Phone numbers
- Passwords
- ID cards
- Money history
- Private keys
A private key is like a secret key to your money box. If someone gets it, they can open your box.
That made many people scared.
What did Binance say?
Binance said: "No. It is not true."
Binance said they checked their computers. They did not see any thief inside.
Binance gave three simple reasons:
1. Binance does not keep passwords open.
Binance locks passwords. Like when you lock your door. Nobody can see them.
2. Binance does not keep your private key.
Your private key is yours only. Binance does not have it. So how can a thief steal what Binance does not have?
3. The list has wrong countries.
The thief said the data is from some countries. But Binance does not work in those countries again. So the list looks fake.
The boss of Binance, CZ, also said: "This is fake. This is a scam."
A scam means somebody is lying to get money.
Is this the same as the other Binance hack?
No. It is not the same.
On 29 October, a different group of thieves really stole money from Binance. That was $6.3 billion. That one was real.
This ShinyHunters story is different. Nobody has proved it is real.
What should you do?
Do not be scared. But be careful.
Do these three things:
1. Do not click strange links.
If someone sends you a message and says, "Binance! Click here now!" Do not click it. It may be a trap.
2. Use 2FA.
2FA is like a second lock. Even if someone knows your password, they still need a code from your phone.
3. Never share your password or private key.
Binance will never ask you for your private key. Never give it to anybody.
The End
So, what really happened?
Somebody said they stole Binance data and asked for $900,000.
Binance checked and said, "We did not see any stealing. This looks like a scam."
For now, there is no proof that Binance was hacked by ShinyHunters.
Stay safe. Stay smart. Do not give your secret to anybody.
