Cryptocurrency exchanges are usually entrusted with copious amounts of user data, due to the nature of their business. However, as we have come to see on several occasions, not every firm can guarantee the safety of the data it holds.
Earlier today, Binance revealed on Twitter that it had noticed a massive leak — as BeInCrypto reported earlier — of email addresses from rival exchange BitMEX. The former urged its customers who had been affected by the leak to change their e-mails on its platform to stay safe.
Sponsored⚠️We are aware of a large-scale user email leak from another exchange.⚠️
If you are one of the affected users and you also have a Binance account under the same email address, we recommend changing your email immediately using the below steps:https://t.co/sgEr5sqleg
— Binance (@binance) November 1, 2019
The BitMEX data dump is different from other forms of security breaches that occur on exchanges. The most prevalent breach involves the theft of user’s confidential passwords or any other information that could be used to access their accounts, as well as attacks on the security system of the exchange itself. BitMEX’s incident appears to be simple negligence.
Binance knows the issues data leaks can bring, following a similar incident back in August 2019. The exchange had claimed that it was being blackmailed by someone who threatened to share up to 10,000 pictures used as KYC data on the platform.
Further investigation revealed that there was not much cause for alarm, as the images were said to have been from February 2018 — when the company “contracted a third-party vendor for KYC verification to handle the high volume of requests at that time.”
Losing Emails is undoubtedly a huge security risk. Leaked Email addresses could be used to steal information from users, send spam messages, and infringe on the privacy of their owners. In a world where data has become king, this is a huge problem for anyone involved.
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