Ransomware operators LockBit published user data from BTC-Alpha, a UK-based cryptocurrency exchange with Ukrainian roots. The Telegram channel Information Leaks drew attention to this.
According to the channel, the 362,479-row table contains hashed passwords, email addresses, registration dates, countries and IP addresses of the exchange’s clients.
BTC-Alpha’s CEO Vitaliy Bodnar, in a ForkLog interview, confirmed the breach and linked it to the November 2021 attack on the exchange. He stressed that the dump of the database only partially contains accurate information about users; he said that the rest of the data were altered by hackers.
“362,479 people – that was the real number of the exchange’s users at the time of the attack on 1 November 2021. In the distributed database some elements match, some do not. We acknowledge that hackers deliberately altered part of the data so that those who want to buy the database would not receive fully accurate information,” the platform’s CEO said.
Vitaliy Bodnar noted that as a result of the leak none of the users lost funds; the passwords that fell into the hackers’ hands are stored encrypted. He also said that the name of the LockBit operators began to appear in ransom-demand letters about a month after the attack.
“LockBit may take some responsibility now, because there is a high probability they were paid for this,” Bodnar added.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing; Ukraine’s General Prosecutor’s Office has opened a criminal case.
BTC-Alpha drew attention to the rising number of phishing attacks impersonating popular wallets and exchanges and advised users to always verify the sender and not click unfamiliar links to protect access to their computers and funds.
Earlier in November 2021, unknown hacked the computers of several BTC-Alpha employees. They stole passwords stored in encrypted form, but funds, according to the exchange’s representatives, were not harmed.
Among possible causes of the attack on BTC-Alpha was a data leak. After the incident the platform increased withdrawal times and introduced mandatory 2FA.
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