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Quick Take
- Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino, also the CEO of Tether, has cast skepticism on a ransomware group’s week-old claim that personal data from the exchange was breached.
- Hacking group FSOCIETY claimed last week to have hacked Bitfinex along with Rutgers University and two other companies.
Bitfinex chief technology officer Paolo Ardoino is casting skepticism on claims circulated on social media that the exchange was the subject of a large-scale data breach, as hacking group FSOCIETY claimed on April 26. "We're performing deep analysis of our systems and no breach was found currently," Ardoino wrote on X, noting that fewer than a quarter of the email addresses supposedly stolen from Bitfinex's servers match legitimate users. Hacking group FSOCIETY, styled after the fake hacking group from the television show Mr. Robot, claimed successful hacks on several victims on its darkweb homepage on April 26, including Rutgers University, consulting firm SBC Global, and crypto exchange "Coinmoma," likely a misspelling of Coinmama. Hacking group FSOCIETY claimed to hack Binance on April 26. However, of the companies that were reportedly hacked by FSOCIETY, none appear to have acknowledged a significant data breach or the payment of a ransom. Ardoino claimed they never received a direct message from the hacking group. "Their post was published the 25th of April, giving 7 days to contact them. Yet we discovered about this claim only yesterday. If they had any real information they would have asked a ramson [sic] through our bug bounty, customer support ticket, emails, twitter etc. We couldn't find any request," Ardoino wrote. Ardoino, also the CEO of Tether, shared a message he said he received from a security researcher that speculated that the real reason for the hacks was for the hacking group to promote its ransomware tools, which it sells access to reportedly in exchange for a subscription fee and a commission on stolen profits. "tldr: if they truly hacked Bitfinex, do they really need selling stuff for 299$?," Ardoino wrote. Bitfinex was infamously hacked in 2016; two individuals, including crypto rapper 'Razzlekhan', pleaded guilty to money laundering charges in connection with the hack, surrendering over 95,000 Bitcoin to the government. Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures. © 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
About Author
Zack Abrams is a writer and editor based in Brooklyn, New York. Before coming to The Block, he was the Head Writer at Coinage, a Web3 media outlet covering the biggest stories in Web3. The story he co-reported on Do Kwon won a 2022 Best in Business Journalism award from SABEW. Other projects included a deep dive into SBF's defense based on exclusive documents and unveiling the identity of the hacker behind one of 2023's biggest crypto hacks — so far. He can be reached via X @zackdabrams or email, [email protected].