A recent Coinbase data breach has been attributed to support agents in India working for outsourcing firm TaskUs, who were bribed by cybercriminals to leak sensitive customer information.
The breach came to light in January 2025 after a TaskUs employee was seen taking photos of her computer screen, prompting an internal investigation where two workers confessed to selling user data to hackers.
Coinbase officially disclosed the breach in May, confirming that customer names, emails, partial financial data, and ID scans were stolen. The attackers later demanded a $20 million ransom, which Coinbase refused, instead offering a reward to identify those behind the extortion.
Nearly 70,000 affected customers were notified by Coinbase. TaskUs responded by firing the involved employees, shutting down operations in Indore, and offering severance packages to the remaining staff. The company believes the breach was part of a wider criminal campaign targeting multiple service providers.
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