Key points:
- Binance and Kraken fended off social engineering attempts akin to the recent Coinbase breach.
- The efforts included bribing customer support representatives and were linked back to Telegram accounts.
Recently, Binance and Kraken, two leading cryptocurrency exchanges, faced a series of social engineering attempts reminiscent of a significant data breach experienced by Coinbase.
Hackers contacted customer support staff, offering bribes and providing detailed instructions for connecting with them via Telegram, according to a Bloomberg report citing sources knowledgeable about the situation. Fortunately, both exchanges successfully thwarted these attacks without compromising any customer data.
The tactics employed were similar to those used against Coinbase, which recently disclosed that it anticipates costs between $180 million and $400 million for remediation and customer reimbursements following an attack that compromised their clients’ personal information. This incident led to a $20 million ransom demand after the attackers were able to bribe Coinbase’s overseas employees to access customer data. As a result, Coinbase terminated the staff involved and has involved law enforcement.
At Binance, advanced internal systems, including AI bots, helped identify bribery-related communications, effectively stopping the interactions before any damage occurred. Policies that restrict access to customer data unless initiated by users also contributed to reducing risks.
Coinbase reportedly began noticing unusual activities in January, prompting warnings from rival exchanges about strange activities targeting its largest clients.
