Digital Asset
Intelligence
Security Incident

Coinbase Security Mechanism Issue

·Historical incident record

Incident Overview

According to a notification letter submitted by Coinbase to the California Attorney General’s Office to affected customers, a vulnerability that allows hackers to bypass Coinbase’s multi-factor authentication SMS option has affected at least 6,000 Coinbase users between March and May 2021. During the 20th day, hackers took advantage of this omission to access the accounts of affected users and transfer user funds from Coinbase. After Coinbase learned of this issue, it immediately updated its SMS account recovery agreement to prevent hackers from further bypassing the authentication process. In addition, Coinbase will deposit funds of the same value into the accounts of affected users. Coinbase has also been working closely with law enforcement agencies and is conducting an internal investigation into the incident.

Sources & References

This record presents information attributed to the linked sources. Incident dates describe the original event, not a new report. Reported loss figures reflect the source record and are not current market valuations.

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