Coinbase Hit with $21 Million Lawsuit

Hackers Drained Users’ Crypto Wallets

The Coinbase cryptocurrency trading platform has found itself embroiled in a multi-million dollar lawsuit. Last year, hackers robbed the platform after bundling Coinbase Wallet with fake dating Apps linked to WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter.

Next, the scammers infiltrated and downloaded the platform’s wallet, which they linked to fraudulent websites, then prompted users to purchase a “voucher” that looked like a safe payment protected and facilitated by Coinbase’s trusted platform. However, the victims were tricked into buying a maliciously coded smart contract.

After purchasing the fake smart contract, users discovered that they actually allowed the criminal hackers to withdraw all the cryptocurrency in their wallets, without even requiring their authorization.

Now, Coinbase is being held accountable, as the victims claimed that the company allegedly failed to protect its users. So far, nearly 100 individuals who the threat actors robbed are seeking redress.

Allegedly, Coinbase is responsible for the hack on its platform, as victims stated that no security protocol was in place to stop the scammers from draining thousands of dollars worth of cryptocurrency from their accounts.

Coinbase wallet users that were affected by the latest cryptocurrency hack are suing for over $21 million.

Binance Hijacked for $570 Million

Meanwhile, in 2022, there have been other brutal attacks on cryptocurrency exchanges, with the most profitable heist amounting to $570 million on the Binance platform. However, with the Binance cryptocurrency hack, law enforcement officials, according to the company’s CEO Changpeng Zhao, have narrowed their investigation to the main target, who is responsible for the attack.

The unidentified hacker, or possibly a hacking group, reportedly escaped with 2 million BNB, worth approximately $570 million. Accordingly, the hackers modus operandi was done by infiltrating the platform’s “cross-chain” bridge.

Furthermore, recent cyber research data provided by the Chainalysis team indicated that for 2022, cryptocurrency theft involving cross-chain bridges amounts to over $1 billion.

These cryptocurrency bridges are often used with decentralized financial transactions, and so, they have become targets for criminal groups from the dark web. Also, they are easily infiltrated due to flaws in their underlying coding. In particular, bridges enable hackers to swiftly transfer stolen cryptocurrency tokens between blockchains without being noticed.

Binance Freezed Stolen Crypto

Since the attack, Binance has taken action to suspend operations on its BNB Chain blockchain network. In addition, the company is currently carrying out critical security upgrades on its platform.

This latest fortified upgrade for the BNB Chain indicates future hack prevention. The implemented security methods should successfully prevent hackers from stealing cryptocurrency funds from Binance users, according to Binance’s CEO.

The company also reported that the actual loss of $570 million was significantly reduced, with its security team moving quickly to freeze about 80% to 90% of the stolen cryptocurrency.

According to a Binance statement, the hackers were able to steal just $100 million, as the vast majority of the stolen cryptocurrency remains frozen on the Binance platform blockchain.