Binance ties phishing test results to employee reviews as social engineering accounts for most crypto security incidents.
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has spent years testing its own workforce against phishing attacks as part of a wider effort to reduce security risks. Company executives say social engineering remains one of the biggest threats facing the digital asset industry. Monthly simulations now form a regular part of employee security training. Staff members who repeatedly fail those tests may eventually face poor performance ratings or even dismissal.
Fake Recruiters, Conference Invites Part of Binance’s Monthly Security Tests
Binance chief security officer Jimmy Su said the company’s internal red team carries out fake attacks every month. Red teams are ethical hackers tasked with finding weaknesses before criminals can exploit them. According to Su, employees who fall for simulated scams must complete additional training to improve their awareness.
Su said Binance introduced the programme about three to four years ago. Early results showed many workers struggled to identify phishing attempts. Regular testing and follow-up training have since led to noticeable improvements in employee security habits.
Monthly simulations include several common attack methods used by cybercriminals. Rather than relying solely on technical exploits, many of these campaigns target human behaviour.
- Fake job recruiters contact employees and attempt to collect sensitive information.
- Fraudulent conference invitations are sent to persuade staff to reveal personal details.
- Employees who fail the tests receive mandatory remediation training.
- Repeated failures can lower performance ratings and may eventually result in dismissal.
Results from each exercise form part of employee performance reviews. Su said repeated mistakes can push an employee’s rating to the lowest level. Continued poor performance could ultimately cost someone their job.
Social Engineering Fueled 65% of Crypto Security Incidents in 2025: AMLBot
Social engineering has become a growing concern across the cryptocurrency sector. AMLBot estimated in February that 65% of crypto security incidents during 2025 were linked to social engineering attacks. Criminals increasingly rely on deception instead of technical flaws to gain access to valuable accounts.
Recent attacks have shown how costly those tactics can become. Drift Protocol suffered a $285 million hack in April after attackers carried out a long-term social engineering campaign. Another well-known method involves fake Zoom meeting invitations that trick victims into installing malicious software disguised as software updates.
One such case occurred in September 2025, when a major Venus Protocol user lost roughly $13 million after installing a malicious Zoom client. Attackers gained control of the victim’s account and accessed digital assets. Venus later paused parts of its protocol, approved emergency governance measures, and returned positions worth about $11.4 million.
Binance, which reports more than 323 million registered users and holds an estimated $137.7 billion in assets, views constant employee testing as a key defence against increasingly convincing phishing campaigns.
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