Coinbase takes on extortionists: refuses to pay $20 million ransom, offers bounty to catch criminals

Coinbase disclosed that criminals stole a small amount of customer data (involving less than 1% of monthly trading users) by bribing overseas customer service agents, which was used for social engineering attacks. The leaked data includes names, addresses, phone numbers, and partial account information, but does not involve passwords, private keys, or fund access permissions. Coinbase refused to pay a $20 million ransom demand, established an equivalent bounty to track down the criminals, and will fully compensate users who were scammed. The platform has strengthened security measures, including setting up US customer service centers, enhancing monitoring and high-risk transaction identity verification, and collaborating with law enforcement agencies to hold perpetrators accountable.