Indian cryptocurrency exchange Buyucoin has reportedly been hacked and sensitive data of about 325,000 users has reportedly been leaked onto the dark web. According to reports, the leaked data includes personal information, encrypted passwords, user wallet details, order details, bank details, PAN numbers, passport numbers, and deposit histories.
Indian Cryptocurrency Exchange Hacked
Buyucoin, a Delhi NCR-based cryptocurrency exchange, has reportedly been hacked. The exchange has more than 350K registered users and has facilitated over $500 million in cryptocurrency trades, according to its website. Several local news outlets reported that sensitive data of about 325K customers has been dumped onto the dark web. IANS publication detailed on Friday:
The data leaked include names, e-mails, mobile numbers, encrypted passwords, user wallet details, order details, bank details, KYC details (PAN number, passport numbers) and deposit history.
Independent cybersecurity researcher Rajshekhar Rajaharia explained to the publication that the 6GB file on MongoDB database contains three backup files with Buyucoin data. The researcher also found his own information that he used to create an account on the platform last year among the leaked data. “This is a serious hack as key financial, banking and KYC details have been leaked on the dark web,” Rajaharia was quoted as saying.
On Twitter, a number of users said that their information was leaked. Rajaharia tweeted: “Trading in cryptocurrency? 3.5 Lakh Users data including me leaked from Buyucoin. The leaked data contains name, email, mobile, bank account numbers, PAN number, wallets details etc. Again didn’t informed to affected users by company.”
Buyucoin is the latest victim of the infamous hacker group Shinyhunters, which has been leaking databases for free on well-known English-speaking forums, according to the Economic Times. The group also leaked data of e-grocer Big Basket, educational technology platform Unacademy and payment aggregator Juspay.
Israel-based darknet threat intelligence provider KELA confirmed the leak to the publication. The firm’s threat intelligence analyst Victoria Kivilevich explained that “These records are now circulating on the dark web and available for use by other cyber criminals.” She added that they can use the data for anything from “phishing scams to gaining admin privileges and access into corporate networks if corporate credentials have been leaked.”
Buyucoin Is Investigating the Breach
Since reports of the security breach emerged, Buyucoin has released two official statements on the matter. The first was written by its CEO, Shivam Thakral. He wrote: “In the mid of 2020, while conducting a routine testing exercise with dummy data, we faced a ‘low impact security incident’ in which non-sensitive, dummy data of only 200 entries were impacted. We would like to clarify that not even a single customer was affected during the incident.”
Rajaharia responded to the exchange’s official statement in a tweet: “Such an irresponsible statement by Buyucoin. I am your registered and KYC verified user. You leaked my own data too. Please change your statement asap. What if someone used my account in any illegal activity. Please inform your users right now.”
The Buyucoin CEO’s message was subsequently replaced with a different one by the exchange. “Regarding the media report,” Buyucoin wrote:
We are thoroughly investigating each and every aspect of the report about malicious and unlawful cybercrime activities by foreign entities in mid-2020.
There have been no further updates from the exchange at press time.
What do you think about this Buyucoin hack? Let us know in the comments section below.
Unsurprisingly, female crypto investors are a firm minority in India, and pretty much anywhere else on the planet. However, what sets Indian women apart from many other, beauty aside, is their willingness to spend more on cryptocurrency than their husbands and boyfriends.
Another interesting finding is related to the age at which most Indians enter the cryptocurrency world. For male investors that’s 30 years, and for women – around 40. “Usually, woman investors who are buying or trading are over 40 years of age. Typically these are mature investors who are able to put in more money,” Buyucoin CEO, Shivam Thakral, explained for Quartz. “On the other hand, more men start investing at an early age with the average age for this group being 30,” he noted.
