Binance and Kraken Thwart Social Engineering Attacks Amid Coinbase Breach Fallout

Binance and Kraken, two of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, recently faced a series of coordinated social engineering attacks aimed at breaching customer data, according to a Bloomberg report. The tactics used closely resemble those in a recent security breach at Coinbase, where attackers bribed overseas employees and contractors to gain access to sensitive user information.

In the latest wave of attacks, hackers approached customer service agents at Binance and Kraken with bribe offers and instructions to contact them via Telegram. However, both exchanges successfully blocked the attempts, reporting no loss of customer data.

Coinbase, which disclosed its breach earlier this week, is now facing $180 million to $400 million in remediation and reimbursement costs. The attack led to a $20 million ransom demand and resulted in the termination of staff involved in the data leak. U.S. law enforcement has been notified, and the company is actively investigating.

Binance’s internal security systems, including AI-powered tools, flagged and shut down suspicious conversations before they escalated. Strict internal policies that limit access to customer data unless initiated by users also helped mitigate potential risks. Kraken also reinforced its security measures to prevent similar incidents.

The breach at Coinbase reportedly began with suspicious activity in January, though competing exchanges had issued warnings as early as December regarding targeted threats toward Coinbase’s high-value clients.

The attempted attacks underscore the growing sophistication of threats facing centralized crypto exchanges. With phishing, bribery, and insider manipulation becoming more common, robust internal controls and real-time threat detection remain essential to protecting user data in the digital asset industry.