Bitfinex crypto exchange is refuting the claims by hacking group FSOCIETY that they infiltrated its database and leaked 22,500 customer emails and passwords in the process. According to the platform’s chief technology officer (CTO) Paolo Ardoino, the claim “seems fake,” given that the supposed hackers have refused to come forward to request a ransom.
Bitfinex Assures Users of the Safety of Their Funds
In a May 4 X post, Ardoino claimed that the company has a policy of not storing passwords or 2FA secrets in plain text. Hence, the part statement that reads:
“If they had any real information, they would have asked a ramson through our bug bounty, customer support ticket, emails, Twitter, etc. We couldn’t find any request.”
Furthermore, the CTO noted that the real figures might have been bloated by the group. He confirmed that only 5,000 of the 22,500 emails and passwords matched with Bitfinex users. However, even at that, Ardoino believes that the breach could have come from anywhere and not necessarily from the Bitfinex platform.
His explanation borders on the fact that many users use the same email and passwords across various sites. This, Ardoino believes, is usually a recipe for disaster, which leaves users prone to hacks and data breaches.
Also, he shared a message from a security researcher who believes that the hackers’ motive for claiming to have hacked Bitfinex is to promote a data retrieval hacking tool. The researcher explains that by claiming to have hacked a renowned firm such as the exchange, they could generate significant sales traffic for their supposedly remarkable hacking tool.
Finally, Ardoino confirmed to users that the company will keep investigating the matter. However, they can rest assured that no breach has been detected so far, and all funds remain intact and safe.
Breach Records
Notably, Bitfinex has a history of breaches, so this is not the first time the platform is facing scrutiny over data breach concerns.
In November 2023, there were reports of a minor information leak at Bitfinex that resulted in a series of phishing attacks targeted at Bitfinex users. At the time, though, Bitfinex said that the impact was minimal and everything was immediately gotten under control.
Back in 2016, there was another security incident that saw Bitfinex customers losing 119,576 Bitcoin (BTC). At the time, the loss was worth around $70 million, but at current prices, it should be about $7.6 billion now.
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