In a recent security mishap, Coinbase, one of the biggest crypto exchanges in the world, has found itself facing an internal betrayal. The breach didn’t come from hackers breaking through firewalls—it came from insiders leaking private information of coinbase customer.
This cyber attack is expected to cost the company anywhere between $180 million and $400 million.
According to a blog post by the company, some overseas customer support agents working for Coinbase were bribed by cybercriminals. These agents leaked personal customer data, including names, home addresses, phone numbers, and even government ID photos.
Some records also had partial Social Security and bank information. However, Coinbase clarified that none of the leaked data included passwords, wallets, or two-factor authentication codes.
Coinbase says the breach impacted less than 1% of its active users, which is around 84,000 customers. These users were targeted with social engineering scams, where attackers pretended to be Coinbase employees to steal funds.
The financial cost for Coinbase is expected to be between $180 million and $400 million. While that’s a big hit, the company says protecting customers is more important.
To fix the damage, Coinbase is taking several major steps. First, the company confirmed that any user who was tricked into sending funds will be fully reimbursed.
Second, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong refused to pay the $20 million bribe the attackers demanded and instead launched a $20 million reward fund for anyone who helps catch those responsible.
To prevent this from happening again, Coinbase is making some serious changes. They’re opening a new customer support center in the U.S., strengthening how they detect suspicious activity inside the company, and increasing the monitoring of risky transactions.
Chief Security Officer Philip Martin admitted the situation was tough but said the company is owning up to its mistakes. “When something like this happens, we don’t hide—we fix it,” he said.
For Coinbase, this incident is not just about losses, but about rebuilding trust in a fast-changing industry.
Bribed support agents leaked customer data, exposing 84,000 users to social engineering scams.
Coinbase is opening a U.S. support center, boosting internal monitoring, and enhancing fraud detection.
The U.S. Treasury and G7 nations are focusing on strengthening crypto regulations and cybersecurity to combat increasing crypto hacks and ransomware attacks.
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