According to Bloomberg reports, due to the recent surge of extortion cases targeting cryptocurrency investors and practitioners around the world, many industry executives have begun to strengthen their security measures.
Jethro Pijlman, Managing Director of the Dutch personal security and intelligence service company Infinite Risks International, stated:
Last week, it was reported that several overseas customer service representatives of the American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase accepted bribes to provide a portion of user account information and management records to cybercriminals. In recent months, Coinbase customers have frequently reported falling victim to social engineering scams impersonating customer service, resulting in losses of up to millions of dollars. According to Coinbase, the estimated impact of this incident affected “less than 1% of monthly trading users.”
The Coinbase data leak incident has raised further concerns about personal security, as the information obtained by hackers enables them to identify and track customers holding large amounts of cryptocurrency assets. Ronghui Gu, co-founder of blockchain security company CertiK and Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Columbia University, stated:
According to Charles Marino, CEO of the cybersecurity company Sentinel, as cryptocurrency technology develops rapidly, online defenses have become difficult to breach, prompting criminals to resort to real-world attacks.
The level of concern regarding the safety of executives in the cryptocurrency industry and their families can be seen from the substantial security expenses that Coinbase has incurred for its CEO Brian Armstrong. According to a regulatory document from April, the company spent $6.2 million on personal security for Armstrong last year, which is more than the total security expenses for the CEOs of companies like JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Nvidia combined.
Several American cryptocurrency companies have also paid security expenses for their executives. Stablecoin issuer Circle paid approximately $800,000 in security fees for CEO Jeremy Allaire last year, while online brokerage Robinhood spent about $1.6 million for CEO Vlad Tenev.
Attacks Targeting Cryptocurrency Holders
Reports indicate that last week in France, there was a failed kidnapping attempt against cryptocurrency executives, where Pierre Noizat, CEO of the French cryptocurrency exchange Paymium, and his family were ambushed by three men in Paris, who attempted to force them into a van. Fortunately, they managed to escape after resisting. In January of this year, David Balland, co-founder of the French hardware cryptocurrency wallet company Ledger, was kidnapped locally but was later successfully rescued, suffering severe injuries to his hand.
The frequency of these incidents prompted French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau to promise last Friday to establish an emergency hotline for the cryptocurrency industry, with elite police units providing safety briefings and checks for cryptocurrency executives and their families.
On social media, many traders have expressed that they will avoid traveling to France in the near future. The major cryptocurrency event EthCC will be held in Cannes this summer, and the organizers have intensified security measures, working with multiple French law enforcement agencies, special forces, and private security companies, no longer relying solely on local police.
Similar incidents have not only occurred in France. Bitcoin security expert Jameson Lopp publicly released a global database of real-world attack incidents targeting cryptocurrency holders, with over 20 cases reported this year.
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