Coinbase -Hack shows how greed cyber defense powers can overwhelm

(Bloomberg) – After the best practices of cyber security, does not always protect against human greed.

Fraudsters have once again shown that the Coinbase -based representatives of Coinbase Global Inc. to steal customers of the cryptocurrency company and then demanded a ransom of $ 20 million.

The fraudsters offered the Coinbase customer representatives in exchange for the names, addresses, addresses of users, state ID images and other data, the company announced on Thursday. Then they wanted to use this illegally received information to give up their crypto as a coin base and dupe customer.

Coinbase said there have found several instances of customers support agents who collected information about users who did not need them for their work. Then, on May 11th, an unknown attacker Coinbase sent an e -mail to request a blackmail payment so as not to open the information. Then it became clear that the representatives operated as part of the same scheme.

Coinbase now expects up to 400 million US dollars to solve the incident.

If the program sounds familiar, it is because it is terribly difficult for companies to find out how they can prevent their employees from accepting cash from Crooks on their side. Matt Cohen, Chief Executive Officer of the cybersecurity company Cyberark, said the episode notes on the “fragility of human access point”.

“It will still be the weakest link – people themselves,” said Cohen. “No matter whether they do justice to be injured or paid to violate him, the fact that the security layer is sitting with humans.”

The Hacking Group Lapsus $ in 2022 made its name by making big sacrifices such as Microsoft Corp., Okta Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. The Cybercrime -Spree was partly so successful because the gang in their public telegramm channel made the jobs for the providers in the provision of data in the public telegram channel,, to supply Hackers in corporate networks.

Security researchers informed Bloomberg News at the time that the tactics of the group were “quite bizarre”, but the unique methodology proved to be incredibly successful.

SIM -Swapper also use bribery as a key tactics. These groups contact employees of telecommunications companies and persuade them to hand over control of a telephone number that belongs to someone else. By accessing this number, a fraud lines can receive text messages and review codes with which you can access the protected accounts of a victim.

Verizon Communications Inc. and T-Mobile USA Inc. have reported that they have received text messages from fraudsters to promise hundreds of dollars to commit fraud.

This type of bribery is still successful because so many company employees and contractors who work directly with customers receive low salaries and are based outside the USA. Companies that try to fix this problem have to spend more than just cyber security, especially since experts expect this type of violation to become more common.

“Ten years ago, it was largely unknown for cyber criminal organizations to use the insider threat at least monetarily,” said Allan Liska, an analyst with a threat to the cyber company that recorded the future. “Since these organizations continue to grow and benefit from their attacks, they will get better and more efficient with employees, contractors, partners and providers for access and impress them.”

-with the support of Lynn Doan.

(Updates with Cohen quotes from the 6th paragraph)

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