Major Data Breach at Transak Exposes Thousands of Users
This year has seen a significant rise in cryptocurrency-related scams and hacks, with the most recent incident involving a data breach at the popular crypto on-ramp platform Transak. On October 21, Transak confirmed that the personal information of a staggering 92,554 users had been compromised in the attack. This platform, widely known for facilitating the conversion of fiat currencies to cryptocurrency, operates in more than 162 countries around the globe.
Details of the Breach and Its Impact
In a blog post addressing the breach, Transak disclosed that users’ sensitive data, including names, birth dates, identification documents, and selfies, were exposed as a result of the cyber attack. This information had been gathered during the platform’s Know Your Customer (KYC) process. The investigation revealed that an unauthorized individual compromised an employee’s laptop to carry out this phishing attack.
By using the compromised credentials, the attacker gained access to a third-party KYC vendor’s system, which Transak uses for document scanning and verification services. This allowed the attacker to retrieve specific user information stored within the vendor’s dashboard, as detailed in the published blog post.
Despite the breach, Transak reassured its user base that no financial information had been stolen or exposed during the incident. As a non-custodial platform, Transak empowers users to maintain full control over their fiat and cryptocurrency assets, safeguarding their funds against potential cyber threats.
Response and Investigation
To address the risks arising from the breach, Transak has collaborated with cybersecurity firms and forensic experts to conduct a comprehensive investigation. At present, the platform has not disclosed any information regarding the identity of the individuals behind the attack.
The swift action taken in partnership with cybersecurity experts has facilitated a thorough assessment of the breach, identification of its points of entry, and immediate prevention of further unauthorized access, as highlighted in the blog post.
Transak is currently in the process of reaching out to affected users and has deployed advanced software systems to proactively detect and prevent potential breaches at an early stage.
Concerns for Visa-Linked Users
While efforts are underway to address the breach’s repercussions, it remains unclear whether Visa-linked users have been impacted by the incident. As of now, Visa has not officially commented on the situation.
For the latest updates on the Transak data breach and related developments, stay tuned to reputable news sources in the cybersecurity and cryptocurrency sectors.