Binance red-teams its own staff monthly to fight phishing

One of the more well-known attack methods in recent years has been the “Zoom meeting attack,” where hackers trick victims into installing malware disguised as an update to the video conferencing app. Many of these attacks start with a fake job opportunity, though some use project funding or a partnership proposal as the lure. In September 2025, a major Venus Protocol user lost roughly $13 million after a malicious Zoom client compromised his computer, leading him to grant an attacker control over his account. Venus paused the protocol and used an emergency governance vote to recover the assets, later returning positions worth $11.4 million to the victim.

Social engineering attacks are not limited to external actors. The Binance program targets internal weaknesses, a strategy that other exchanges have adopted. The risk is that even sophisticated security systems can be bypassed if an employee opens the wrong link or shares credentials with a convincing impersonator.

Su said the interview scenario is just one of several. The red team also tests staff with fake conference invitations, attempts to collect personal information, and measures how many employees fall for each ruse. The broader industry context is that crypto platforms hold billions in assets but remain vulnerable to the oldest trick in the book: trusting the wrong person.

(Note: This article includes reporting from Cointelegraph.)