Visa’s Crypto Partner Firm Transak Confirms Data Breach, Over 92,500 Users Impacted

Currently, it's unclear whether the data breach has impacted Visa-linked users.

Written by Radhika Parashar, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 22 October 2024 15:08 IST

Visa’s Crypto Partner Firm Transak Confirms Data Breach, Over 92,500 Users Impacted

Photo Credit: Pexels/ Sora Shimazaki

Names, birth dates, and selfies of Transak users have been exposed in the attack

Highlights

Transak was founded in 2019
The platform is headquartered in London, UK
Visa partnered with Transak in January 2024

This year has seen a surge in crypto-related scams and hacks, with the latest being a data breach on the crypto on-ramp platform Transak. In an official statement on October 21, Transak confirmed that the personal information of 92,554 users was compromised in the attack. The platform, which facilitates the conversion of fiat currencies to cryptocurrency, operates in over 162 countries, according to its website.

In a blog post, Transak revealed that the breach exposed users' names, birth dates, identification documents, and selfies—information collected as part of the platform's Know Your Customer (KYC) process. Upon internal probe, Transak discovered that one of its employee's laptops was violated by an unauthorised actor to facilitate this phishing attack.

“Using the compromised credentials, the attacker was able to log in to the system of a third-party KYC vendor that we use for document scanning and verification services. As a result, the attacker gained access to specific user information stored within the vendor's dashboard,” the published blog post explained.

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Transak assured users that no financial information was stolen or exposed in the incident. As a non-custodial platform, it allows users to maintain full control over their fiat and crypto assets at all times, ensuring that funds remain secure from potential cybercriminal threats.

To mitigate the risks from the breach, Transak has partnered with cybersecurity firms and forensic experts to conduct a thorough investigation. So far, the platform has not disclosed any information regarding the identity of the attackers.

“Their expertise has allowed us to quickly assess the situation, identify the breach points, and immediately halt any further unauthorised access,” the blog noted.

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Transak is currently reaching out to affected users and has implemented advanced software systems to detect potential breaches at early stages.

It remains unclear whether the breach at Transak has impacted Visa-linked users, and Visa has not yet commented on the situation.

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Further reading: Cryptocurrency, Transak, Visa, Data Breach

Radhika Parashar

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Radhika Parashar is a senior correspondent for Gadgets 360. She has been reporting on tech and telecom for the last three years now and will be focussing on writing about all things crypto. Besides this, she is a major sitcom nerd and often replies in Chandler Bing and Michael Scott references. For tips or queries you could reach out to her at RadhikaP@ndtv.com. More