Coinbase Refuses $20 Million Ransom After Hackers Breach Buyer Knowledge: Report

[ad_1] A cyberattack that exploited insider entry has pressured Coinbase into harm management mode, triggering a possible $400 million hit and intensifying scrutiny on workforce safety within the crypto trade.

The hackers behind the breach reportedly stole delicate buyer knowledge and issued a $20 million ransom demand, which Coinbase refuses to pay, CNBC reported.

The change disclosed that rogue abroad assist brokers accepted bribes to leak inner paperwork and knowledge tied to a "small subset" of buyer accounts.

This info included names, addresses, emails, account balances, masked financial institution particulars, and partial Social Safety numbers. Crucially, non-public keys and passwords weren't accessed, and Coinbase mentioned Prime accounts remained safe.

🚨 BREAKING: Coinbase says cybercriminals bribed abroad assist brokers to entry buyer knowledge utilized in focused social engineering assaults.Coinbase gained’t pay the $20M ransom demand, providing a $20M reward as an alternative for information resulting in the attackers’ arrest and conviction. pic.twitter.com/h1b44k9GxY

— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) Could 15, 2025 Ransom Rejected

Coinbase mentioned it acquired an e mail on Could 11 from a risk actor claiming to own stolen buyer knowledge and delicate inner documentation. Fairly than give in to the extortion, Coinbase reported the incident to authorities and launched its personal counteroffensive, establishing a $20 million reward fund for info resulting in the hackers' arrest.

The corporate independently detected indicators of the breach earlier this yr and swiftly fired the implicated contractors. It additionally bolstered fraud monitoring and alerted affected customers.

The breach comes at a pivotal second for Coinbase. The firm is getting ready to enter the S&P 500 subsequent week, a landmark achievement for the crypto sector. However the breach now raises questions on inner oversight and the safety of third-party staffing.

Regardless of not dropping funds on to the assault, Coinbase pledged to reimburse customers who had been deceived into sending crypto to the attackers throughout social engineering scams. The breach is one other reminder of the persistent safety challenges within the digital asset house.

A Rising Pattern of Subtle Cyberattacks

Crypto corporations stay frequent targets for hackers. In response to Chainalysis, as cited by Reuters, criminals stole $2.2 billion from crypto platforms in 2024 alone. In February, Bybit disclosed what grew to become one of many largest crypto heists in historical past, with losses of round $1.5 billion.

JUST IN: Bybit founder confirms $1.4 billion $ETH hack, asserts solvency even when losses stay uncovered. pic.twitter.com/8rE3KHrGRL

— Whale Insider (@WhaleInsider) February 21, 2025 Coinbase now plans to open a brand new assist hub stateside and strengthen its operational safeguards. The newest growth comes barely a day after Coinbase introduced plans to affix the S&P 500 index this month. The index tracks the biggest 500 publicly listed firms within the US throughout varied sectors, together with finance, tech, healthcare, and extra.