Major cryptocurrency exchange Binance states that some leaked Know Your Customer (KYC) images overlap with those processed by a third party vendor.
In an announcement
on Aug. 23, Binance said that its investigation of a KYC data leak that
occurred on Aug. 7 is still ongoing. The exchange’s security and
investigations team is purportedly trying to identify the source of KYC
images similar to those leaked by an unidentified hacker.
Cryptocurrency
exchanges will often require users to submit an image of themselves
presenting credentials in order to verify their identity.
Binance
states that some of the leaked images overlap with images that were
processed by a third party vendor the exchange contacted several times
from early December 2018 to late February 2019. The announcement further
explains:
“During our review of the leaked images, there were
multiple photoshopped or otherwise altered images which do not match the
KYC images in our database and are being accounted into the
comprehensive investigation. In addition, every image processed through
Binance for KYC purposes is embedded with a concealed digital watermark,
which was notably absent from all of the leaked images.”
As previously reported,
Binance announced the leak on Aug. 7, stating that an unidentified
individual had threatened the exchange and demanded 300 bitcoins (BTC) in exchange for withholding over 10,000 photographs of purported Binance KYC data.
At
the time, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao addressed rumors circulating about
the alleged leak as an attempt to spread “FUD” (fear, uncertainty and
doubt). Zhao urged users not to fall for the FUD.
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