Bitfinex’s chief technology officer, Paolo Ardoino, has dismissed claims made by the hacking group Fsociety that they hacked Bitfinex’s database and leaked customer emails and passwords. According to Ardoino, the claims “seem fake” as there have been no requests for ransom or any evidence of a breach through bug bounty, customer support tickets, emails, or Twitter. He also clarified that out of the leaked records, only 5,000 matched with Bitfinex users, suggesting that the hackers may have gathered data from other crypto breaches. Ardoino explained that this is often the case as many users use the same email and password across multiple sites. Additionally, he shared a message from a security researcher who believes that the hackers were using the claim to promote a data retrieval hacking tool. Ardoino assured users that Bitfinex will continue investigating the situation, but no breach has been detected so far and all funds are safe.
This is not the first time Bitfinex has faced concerns over data breaches. In November 2023, there was a minor information security incident when a customer support agent was hacked, resulting in phishing attacks targeting Bitfinex users. However, Bitfinex stated that little harm was done. In 2016, Bitfinex experienced a major security breach where 119,576 customers’ Bitcoin, worth around $70 million at the time, was lost. This loss would be worth approximately $7.6 billion at current prices.
In other news related to cryptocurrencies, there is ongoing debate surrounding meme coins and their purpose in the crypto industry. Some argue that meme coins betray the ideals of cryptocurrency, while others believe they serve a true purpose.