Kraken and Binance hit by the same phishing campaign that targeted Coinbase
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Crypto exchanges are being targeted by a wave of phishing attacks, with Binance and Kraken being the latest ones to experience it. Experts believe that this could be the same wave that previously hit Coinbase, leading to the loss of customer data. However, this has not been confirmed yet.
The attempted breaches focused on customer service representatives, with online criminals pretending to be clients on Telegram. They tried to offer bribes to employees in exchange for access to sensitive user data, like home addresses and account balances.
Unlike Coinbase, Binance and Kraken reported no loss of customer data for the time being. Both companies’ internal safeguards and security systems based on AI caught the social engineering attempts, banning it before it could do any damage, according to reports.
Coinbase falls victim to an insider phishing attack
Coinbase confirmed in a filing with the US SEC that its support agents were compromised in a targeted bribery scheme, with the attackers successfully accessing account management systems. This resulted in a breach that could cost the company up to $400 million in customer reimbursements and remediation.
The exchange responded by offering a $20 million bounty to anyone who could provide information leading to the arrest and conviction of the cybercriminals behind the breach. It also confirmed that user funds, passwords, and private keys were not exposed.
Regardless, the stolen data did include personal information of high-profile users, such as Sequoia Capital Managing Partner Roelof Botha, whose account was compromised. According to estimates, Botha’s personal wealth is measured in hundreds of millions.
Coinbase also took action against India-based contractors implicated in the breach. The company’s chief security officer, Philip Martin, said that the contractors were fired, but the attack still raised questions regarding the vulnerability of outsourced customer support models used by large crypto companies.
Following the breach, Coinbase’s shares dropped by over 7% to $244 before seeing a partial recovery to $264.24.
