Coinbase says user funds are safe after third-party vendor exposes customer contact info
Coinbase says user funds are safe after third-party vendor exposes customer contact info
The crypto exchange says an incident at analytics firm Amplitude exposed some customer contact information, but insists its own systems were not breached.
Updated Published
- Coinbase denied reports that it was hacked, saying its systems were not accessed without authorization and customer funds remain safe.
- The breach originated at Amplitude, a third-party analytics provider, and exposed contact information for a small subset of Coinbase customers.
- Coinbase is notifying affected customers, who could face phishing and social-engineering attempts using exposed email addresses or phone numbers.
Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has denied reports of a hack, saying customer funds are safe.
The exchange clarified that the incident that led to the breach of customer data originated at Amplitude, a third-party analytics provider, and not the exchange itself. The exposed data includes only a “small subset” of contact information, alongside data related to other Amplitude clients, Coinbase Support’s X handle said.
It said the exchange is informing impacted customers by email as required by law, while stressing that its systems have not detected any unauthorized access.
The disclosure underscores supply-chain risks, meaning customers can face security risks via third parties even when a company’s core infrastructure remains secure. Coinbase did not specify how many customers were affected or exactly which contact-data fields were involved, leaving key details unresolved.
While customer funds remain safe, exposed email addresses and phone numbers can still serve as valuable raw material for phishing and social-engineering attacks, even if passwords, private keys, and funds were not compromised.
CoinDesk reached out to Coinbase for comment on the matter.
The incident comes as several financial firms in South Korea also disclosed customer-data breaches. Daishin Securities said personal information belonging to 38,490 customers was hacked, including names, email addresses and mobile phone numbers, after the brokerage detected signs of unauthorized access by hackers last week.
Meanwhile, some personal information of Bithumb customers was leaked in a cyberattack by an external party, according to Yonhap News Agency. Financial authorities have also begun an inspection into the data breach at Mirae Asset Global Investments.
03:27 UTC: Mentions data breaches at several financial firms in Korea.
