From Binance to supermarket freezers: Cybersecurity as a strategic sector

On October 29, 2026, hackers took about $6.3 billion from Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, most of it in about 20 minutes.

As more of the economy runs on connected systems, attacks like these are turning cybersecurity into a strategic sector for companies and governments alike.

The Binance theft Binance co-CEO Richard Teng described a “complex attack” involving a compromised laptop and malicious software designed to delete evidence of the attackers’ activity.

A strategic sector French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu ordered the national cybersecurity agency, ANSSI, to investigate the October wave.

As he put it: “The world works because cyber security works effectively.”