Binance, the leading exchange by trading volumes worldwide, is currently facing a potential data breach issue.
A dark web forum offers what they claim to be verified user data from the Binance platform.
The post advertises the sale of data including names, countries, and phone numbers of Binance users. If genuine, it could pose significant privacy concerns.
According to the forum post, the data primarily involves English-speaking users from Tier 1 countries.
The seller suggests the authenticity of the data can be verified by attempting to log in with the phone numbers on binance.com or by contacting the users directly.
The claims on the dark web forum are alarming, but the authenticity of the information remains unverified.
The 2019 incident
There is no clear evidence to confirm that the data originates from Binance's systems or that it is accurate.
In a similar incident from 2019, Binance investigated an alleged leak of customer verification information. At that time, the exchange refuted the claims, noting inconsistencies with their internal data and lack of any digital watermark from their system.
The 2019 incident reportedly involved threats of public distribution of 10,000 photos resembling Binance KYC data unless a ransom of 300 BTC was paid, which Binance declined.
In light of these previous events, the current situation raises doubts about the legitimacy of the data being sold.
The dark web is notorious for such illicit offerings, and determining the source and authenticity of such data remains a challenge for both the affected institutions and their users.
Binance has previously stated its commitment to investigating and working with law enforcement to address such issues.