Coinbase Knew of Data Leak in January, Says Report

By Netvora Tech News

According to a report by Reuters, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase was aware of a data leak involving customer information as early as January. The incident, which was publicly disclosed in a blog post on May 15, affected approximately 70,000 customers and resulted in the theft of some of their personal data.

Malicious help desk employees allegedly provided the stolen data to criminals, who used it to defraud customers and extort money from Coinbase. The report suggests that Coinbase was notified of the data leak in January, when a former employee of the help desk company was caught taking photos of their work computer with a personal phone.

Data Leak Linked to Larger Incident

The data leak is believed to be connected to a larger incident involving the same help desk company, which was discovered earlier this year. The company reportedly fired 300 employees, including those suspected of fraud, in the aftermath of the incident.

A spokesperson for the help desk company claimed that the two employees who were terminated had been monitoring the personal data of an unnamed customer. The company stated that it immediately notified the customer of the incident and believes that the employees were recruited by a larger, coordinated criminal campaign targeting the customer, which also affected several other providers.

Coinbase Denies Knowledge of Larger Incident

However, a source close to the matter told Reuters that the customer in question was actually Coinbase, suggesting that the help desk company's claims may be misleading.

Coinbase Faces Lawsuit

A Coinbase customer has filed a lawsuit alleging that the company failed to properly protect personal data and that customers are now at risk of theft and kidnapping as a result of the data leak. Coinbase has since broken all ties with the affected help desk employees and estimates that the incident has caused between $180 million and $400 million in damages.

As the company works to contain the fallout from the incident, it remains unclear how much damage may have already been done to its reputation and the security of its customers' data.