Coinbase detected and blocked attempted attack on user funds

Coinbase was among several crypto companies able to detect and block an attempted hack on Monday, according to reports.

The attackers are believed to have exploited a Firefox zero-day bug to target Coinbase's employees remotely in a spear-phishing attempt.

"If successful, a hacker could have gained access to the Coinbase backend network and used this access to steal funds from the exchange -- a tactic that has been used numerous times in the past and has led to gigantic losses at many cryptocurrency exchanges before," the report noted.

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Coinbase's Chief Security Officer Philip Martin took to Twitter yesterday to share more details about how the crypto exchange handled the attack.

"[We] pulled apart the malware and infra used in the attack and are working with various [organisations] to continue burning down attacker infrastructure and digging into the attacker involved," he said.

Martin also reiterated they had "seen no evidence of exploitation targeting customers," only employees.

About Author

Isabel is The Block's London and European reporter. She previously reported for Reuters in Madrid and London, following on from her time as a freelance journalist for the Guardian and the New York Times. She has a Bachelors in War Studies from King’s College London and a Master of Philosophy from the University of Oxford. Conflict of Interest: Edward Woodford, the CEO of SeedCX, is Isabel's brother. She does not report on any issues related to Seed or advise other authors in any regard.