Binance, Kraken successfully thwart phishing attacks similar to Coinbase hack: Bloomberg

Crypto exchanges Binance and Kraken were also reportedly targeted in the same style of phishing attacks that Coinbase disclosed on Thursday, according to a Bloomberg report.

Neither Binance nor Kraken reported any loss of customer data, with internal safeguards helping thwart the attempts, the report said.

On Thursday, Coinbase disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that cybercriminals had bribed offshore customer service representatives to gain access to user data and account management records.

The security incident is estimated to cost Coinbase as much as $400 million in remediation expenses and voluntary customer reimbursements. The exchange also offered a $20 million bounty for information leading to the conviction of the blackmailers. 

It is unclear if the same scammers who struck Coinbase were the ones who attempted to bribe Binance and Kraken’s customer service agents. Bloomberg reported that the attackers attempted to lure the exchanges’ representatives on Telegram, requesting sensitive customer data like account balances and home addresses. Both exchanges’ AI security systems identified the attack vector and blocked the phishing attempts.

Coinbase noted that customer passwords, private keys, and funds were not directly exposed.