Department Of Justice Launches Investigation Into Coinbase Security Breach
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The US Department of Justice (DoJ) is now looking into a security breach at crypto exchange Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN). The breach involved leaked internal files and details from a small number of customer accounts. It happened after some overseas support agents were bribed.
Moreover, the news was shared by someone familiar with the situation. Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer, Paul Grewal, later confirmed that the investigation is in progress.
Coinbase Refuses Ransom, Offers Reward As Hack Exposes Customer Data
Grewal said that they had informed the DOJ and other law enforcement groups in the US and abroad, and that they were working with them and supported their efforts to catch the criminals.
Coinbase shared news of the breach after the attackers contacted them and demanded $20 million. The exchange refused to pay but instead offered the same amount as a reward for anyone who helps identify the people behind it.
The leaked information includes names, home addresses, emails, account balances, hidden bank details, and parts of Social Security numbers. Coinbase made it clear that passwords and private keys were not taken, and Prime accounts were safe.
The problem was discovered when Coinbase got an email from someone claiming they had access to private company documents and some customer information. Coinbase now expects the damage from the hack to cost between $180 million and $400 million.
Coinbase Updates Rules And Pursues Major Deals Despite Breach
Recently, Coinbase also changed its user rules, adding two new parts that stop group lawsuits and say all legal cases must be filed in New York. These rules only affect new complaints made after mid-May.
Even with this attack, Coinbase is still one of the few big crypto platforms that hasn’t faced a full-scale cyberattack before.
Other exchanges haven’t been as lucky. Bybit was hit by a massive $1.5 billion theft, reportedly by North Korea’s Lazarus Group, which found a weak point in its cold wallet system. Binance was also attacked when hackers created 2 million BNB tokens, worth around $570 million.
At the same time, Coinbase was just added to the S&P 500 index, taking the place of Discover Financial Services. It also plans to buy the crypto options platform Deribit for $2.9 billion and is said to be trying to buy stablecoin company Circle.
Despite the breach, Coinbase remains strong, cooperating with authorities and advancing major acquisitions. Its swift response and ongoing growth highlight resilience in a challenging crypto security landscape.
