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Coinbase insider arrested in India after major data breach
Hackers allegedly gained access to Coinbase’s systems and demanded $20 million ransom
An insider at Coinbase has been arrested overseas following a major data breach that exposed customer information and triggered a huge ransom demand.
Coinbase chief executive Brian Armstrong confirmed the arrest in a post on X on December 26, saying that more arrests are expected.
“We have zero tolerance for bad behavior and will continue to work with law enforcement to bring bad actors to justice,” he wrote.
Armstrong thanked the Indian police, saying an ex-Coinbase support agent had been taken into custody and adding: “Another one down and more still to come.”
According to Bleeping Computer, the arrest is linked to a major data breach in May 2025. Hackers allegedly gained access to Coinbase’s systems with the help of support agents and later demanded a $20 million ransom.
They threatened to publicly release stolen customer information if refused the ransom amount.
As previously reported by Mashable, Coinbase said the hackers accessed a wide range of customer data.
This included names, home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, masked bank account details, photos of government-issued IDs and the last four digits of customers’ Social Security numbers.