Examining The Aftermath Of 450,000 Users Affected By Coinmama’s User Data Breach

450,000 Users Affected As Major Cryptocurrency Brokerage Firm Coinmama Suffers Data Breach

Coinmama, one of the biggest cryptocurrency brokerage company in the world has suffered a massive data breach.

The Israel based company which allows users to purchase Bitcoin [BTC] and Ethereum [ETH] using their credit cards was part of the 24 companies attacked in a multi-platform hack which affected 747 million records. Companies ranging from gaming, media streaming, interior designing, to travel were prone to the larger attack.

According to the official statement published on its website on the 15th of February, 2019, the massive data breach affected about 450, 000 of its users

“Our Security Team is investigating, and based on the information at hand, we believe the intrusion is limited to about 450,000 email addresses and hashed passwords of users who registered until August 5th, 2017.”

It added that

“As of the 15th of February, 2019, there has been no evidence of the data being used by perpetrators. Given the dated nature of the published data, we have no reason to suspect that any other Coinmama systems are compromised. Coinmama does not store credit card information, and do not hold user funds.”

In addition to notifying the users immediately, the company urged users that registered before the 5th of August, 2017 to reset their passwords immediately upon next login, while assuring that its systems are being monitored for suspicious activity or any unauthorized access that may occur as a result of the data leak. It also urged other users to verify that their passwords are unique and strong, avoid opening emails or attachments from unknown senders and avoid offering any personal data to third-party sites.

The platform disclosed that apart from adding continuous enhancements to its systems to detect and prevent unauthorized access to user information it is also working on monitoring any external indication that may suggest that the compromised data is being used

Coinmama further urged users who have information that could help the company mitigate and checkmate this incident to send an email to privacy@coinmama.com while promising to keep customers notified of any new information uncovered by its investigations.

The hack represents the second high-profile data compromise in the crypto-currency industry this year. It will be recalled that on the 15th of January, Cryptopia, a New Zealand based cryptocurrency exchange company also suffered a data breach with tens of thousands of Ethereum wallets hosted by the company hacked leading to the loss of about 23million dollars according to an assessment after the incident

It is estimated that two organized hacker groups have reportedly stolen around $1 billion in cryptocurrency, accounting for the majority of funds lost in crypto-related scams, according to the recent reports from New York-based block-chain intelligence firm, Chainalysis.

Digital asset exchanges platforms are now being perceived to have poor internal management systems and security measures despite the strong track record of major cryptocurrency exchanges that are establishing the industry’s standard.

Although many exchange platforms like Coinbase, Binance, and Gemini have not suffered a security breach or a hacking attack in the entirety of their existence, the growing number of security-related issues in the cryptocurrency exchange market has intensified the concerns of investors in the market.

Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), XRP (Ripple), and BCH Price Analysis Watch (Feb 18th)