Coinbase said Wednesday it found no evidence of unauthorized access to its systems after an analytics vendor exposed some of the exchange’s customers’ contact information.
The exposure occurred at Amplitude, a third-party analytics provider. Coinbase stated that customer funds remained secure and that the incident affected only a small subset of its user base. The exchange did not disclose how many customers were affected or which contact details were compromised.
The Amplitude incident was one of four data leaks reported on October 28. Changpeng Zhao, founder of Binance, flagged the broader risks in a public statement: “You can’t prevent a leak, but you can protect yourself.”
South Korea Investigations Widen
South Korea’s Financial Services Commission launched investigations into multiple institutions on Wednesday. Daishin Securities, a South Korean brokerage, had detected suspicious activity on October 17 and confirmed that personal and financial information for 38,490 customers was exposed. The compromised records included names, email and residential addresses, login IDs, bank names, and encrypted account and telephone numbers.
Bithumb, a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, reported that attackers accessed an internal employee communications system. The exchange is investigating whether customer records were ultimately compromised. South Korea’s Financial Services Commission had not confirmed any exposure of wallet addresses or information enabling fraudulent cryptocurrency transfers at Bithumb.
Mirae Asset Global Investments, a South Korean investment firm, detected unauthorized access to internal web systems but stated that investor information and sensitive financial records remained unaffected.
Prior Incidents and Phishing Risks
Data exposures at cryptocurrency and financial services firms have accelerated phishing and social engineering risks. In August, Bits of Gold, an Israeli crypto broker, disclosed unauthorized access to its analytics infrastructure. In September, Trezor’s email provider Brevo experienced an incident that resulted in the export of 347,149 marketing email addresses.
Zhao warned that leaked addresses combined with cryptocurrency holdings data could expose investors to physical extortion and robbery. “4 data leaks reported today,” he stated on October 28.
South Korea’s Financial Services Commission indicated that 16 South Korean financial institutions had previously been affected by cyber incidents, signaling a pattern of vulnerability across the sector.
