Bitnob crypto exchange data breach: 250k KYC documents at risk

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As a seasoned crypto investor with a penchant for staying informed and protecting my assets, I find this latest incident involving Bitnob deeply concerning. Having lived through the Mt. Gox debacle and several other exchange hacks, I’ve learned to keep a wary eye on such developments.

Researchers at Cybernews uncovered an Amazon Web Services (AWS) storage container, which was publicly accessible, containing confidential user information belonging to the Nigerian cryptocurrency platform, Bitnob.

It is said that the Nigerian cryptocurrency platform Bitnob allegedly disclosed more than 250,000 customer identification records, containing private user information, as a result of an incorrectly set up Amazon Web Services storage container.

On November 6th, a study conducted by the Cybernews research team uncovered that the initial discovery of the leak had occurred on September 11th. According to experts, the leak encompassed Know Your Customer (KYC) documents including government identification cards, passports, and driver’s licenses.

Researchers at Cybernews have found that an unsecured data container is linked to Bitnob, a financial technology company based in Lagos, Nigeria.

Cybernews

It was observed by the analysts that identity verification documents, particularly Know Your Customer (KYC) documents, are in high demand on underground marketplaces of the internet, where a digital passport scan can fetch around $15.

Bad actors target Bitnob’s users

The news source Cybernews suggests that the leak was probably due to a human mistake, possibly stemming from common setup oversights. Although Bitnob has now protected the data, they haven’t issued any statements concerning the incident as yet. At this point in time, no public remarks have been shared about the security breach.

Established in 2020 by Adeolu Akinyemi, Bernard Parah, and Usman Majeed, this Lagos-based cryptocurrency platform provides Bitcoin services including transfers, savings, and loans throughout Africa. While the specific timeline of its discovery is uncertain, cybersecurity experts at Cybernews speculate that potential hackers may have also identified it.

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2024-11-06 17:43