Coinbase Strengthens Employee Security in Response to North Korean Cyber Threats

Coinbase, the globe’s third-largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, is encountering a fresh wave of menaces from North Korean cybercriminals aiming for remote positions within the company.

North Korean IT professionals are progressively focusing on Coinbase’s remote worker policy to gain entry to its confidential systems.

As a reaction, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong is reconsidering the crypto exchange’s internal safety protocols, which include mandating all employees to undergo in-person training in the US, while individuals with access to confidential systems must possess US citizenship and undergo fingerprinting.

“The DPRK is highly interested in appropriating crypto,” Armstrong informed Cheeky Pint podcast host John Collins in a Thursday episode. “We can work together with law enforcement […] but it feels like there are 500 new graduates every quarter, from some kind of institution they have, and that is their entire occupation.”

He added that some agents are compelled to work for the regime. “In many situations, it’s not the individual person’s wrongdoing. Their families are being coerced or imprisoned if they do not comply,” said Armstrong.

Armstrong’s remarks emerge amidst a surge of escalating North Korean cyber activities beyond Coinbase.

In June, four North Korean agents penetrated several crypto firms as freelance developers, pilfering a total of $900,000 from these startups, Cointelegraph reported.

Related: Bitcoin ETFs are the next major target for North Korean hackers — Cyvers

Coinbase data exposure could endanger users physically

Armstrong’s recent measures come three months subsequent to the exchange affirming that less than 1% of its transacting monthly users were impacted by a data breach, which may cost the exchange up to $400 million in reimbursement costs, Cointelegraph reported on May 15.

Nevertheless, the “human cost” of this data breach might be significantly greater for users, according to Michael Arrington, the founder of TechCrunch and Arrington Capital, who pointed out that the breach encompassed home addresses and account balances, leading to prospective physical assaults.

Related: Hoskinson pledges audit, is ‘deeply troubled’ by $600M Cardano treasury claims

Among all US crypto companies, the Coinbase brand was the most duplicated in phishing attacks in 2024, fraudulently appearing in 416 reported phishing scams over the preceding four years, according to a Mailsuite report shared with Cointelegraph.

Totaling all US brands, Facebook’s parent company, Meta, was the most personated brand by scammers, making appearances in at least 10,457 reported scam incidents during the last four years.

The US Internal Revenue Service ranked second on the list, having been imitated in at least 9,762 scams.

Magazine: Coinbase hack indicates the law probably won’t safeguard you — Here’s why