Binance Failed The Interview

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The story, straight

A job interview should test your skills, not your employer's security boundaries.

Homebrew installs developer tools through typed commands. A fake installer impersonates that delivery system to sneak in harmful software.

Social engineering is the human version: impersonate someone trustworthy, then persuade someone to open the door.

According to Binance's own report, as covered by Engadget, a wallet infrastructure engineer downloaded a tampered Homebrew installer for an AI coding tool in June. Binance detected the incident, but attackers learned about colleagues.

In September, a different engineer went through fake job interviews and downloaded an assignment. Malware ran during setup, replaced a legitimate development component and hid its activity.

The take-home assignment apparently interpreted company property as homework.

On October 20, attackers used an internal AI tool to reach more engineers' computers. On October 29, stolen credentials and another engineer's machine helped them launch the theft.

About $6.3 billion was taken. Binance says $2.85 billion was frozen and 98 percent of affected token assets had been replenished.

Those are company-reported figures, not proof that every loss was reversed.

The useful lesson is bigger than spotting suspicious recruiters: interview downloads should stay off work devices, and company access should limit how far a compromised computer can reach.

Repost this before your next interview asks for the office keys.

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