Last Updated on 1 hour by John Piper

Cybercriminals are looking to take advantage of individuals and companies in this space due to the increasing attention given to cryptocurrency. A recent cyberattack on Coinbase, a leading global exchange, has brought it under scrutiny.

Coinbase employees fell prey to a cyberattack earlier this month. The attack involved impersonating staff from the exchange’s IT team and text messaging scams. Although no customers’ Bitcoin ($BTC), crypto funding, or direct data were affected by the attack it still raises cybersecurity concerns and potential vulnerabilities.

A report by the company’s engineering department states that several Coinbase employees were sent messages asking them to log on immediately via a link. The link was meant to send “an important message” Coinbase claims that one employee didn’t recognize the hack attempt and instead followed the link.

“While most people ignore this message, one employee believes it to be an important and legitimate message and clicks the link. After entering their username and password, the employee is prompted to disregard the message and thanked for complying. After “logging in”, the employee is asked to ignore the message and thanked .”

The suspect attempted to access Coinbase’s internal systems remotely several times, but failed to do so and was unable to pass through Multi-Factor Authentication.

After the attacker was unsuccessful, they called the employer’s phone number and claimed that they were the IT department at Coinbase. The employee noticed the suspicious behavior and cut the call. Coinbase reported that the attack was part of a sophisticated hacking campaign that has plagued companies in the cryptocurrency industry for the past year. Although the attack was unsuccessful it is a reminder that hackers of this nature – which rely on the trust of the victim – are common and often target employees and customers. They then prey on the person’s information to gain access to their funds.

Coinbase ended its note by warning that any online presence could lead to a cyberattack.

Be on the lookout for suspicious calls and contacts, especially if they are calling or contacting you. It is a good idea to hang up the phone, and instead use a trusted number or chat service at work to get help. Never give login information or information to anyone who first reached out to you em>.

Coin Insider’s first article, Coinbase Preyed On by a Suspicious Attack Campaign appeared first.