When the bear market couldn’t get worse, a user data leak happened in the crypto exchange Binance. According to Binance CEO CZ, over one billion resident records were leaked and sold to the dark web for 10 Bitcoins. The records include full names, addresses, national IDs, police clearances, medical records, and mobile numbers from “one Asian country.”
CZ said that an algorithm bug labeled Elasticsearch caused all this – a government entity breach that caused all this commotion. He also warned users that the data might be used to hijack accounts. He announced that the crypto exchange would strengthen the verification procedures to counter this threat to ensure it does not worsen.
A Concerning Size of the Breach
Cybersecurity professionals say it may have gotten worse than expected because the one billion breached accounts were already a headache. The attack shocked the Chinese cybersecurity industry, which was concerned about how it occurred. The Shanghai police have not released an official statement so far.
According to the Wall Street Journal, several journalists downloaded the list and phoned numbers to double-check the information. Before disconnecting, five people verified criminal records only the police had access to, and four confirmed their identities.
If you are a Binance user, it is vital to be vigilant and take steps to protect your personal information. Make sure that you use a strong password and enable two-factor authentication. You should also avoid storing large amounts of cryptocurrency on exchanges in general. The data leak has caused great concern among Binance users, especially those in southeast Asia. The fact that the Chinese government has not yet released an official statement on the matter only adds to the anxiety. It is still unclear how the hackers obtained such sensitive information. However, one theory is that they may have used a phishing attack to trick Binance users into revealing their data.
