Sequoia Capital Partner's Data Hacked as Part of Coinbase Breach
Sequoia Capital Managing Partner Roelof Botha was among the high-profile executives whose personal information was stolen in a massive hack against Coinbase Global Inc., according to a person familiar with the situation. The breach, which exposed sensitive customer data including names, dates of birth, addresses, and other details associated with Coinbase accounts, is a stark reminder of the vulnerability of the cryptocurrency industry to cyber attacks.
Personal information about Botha, including his phone number, address, and other details associated with his Coinbase account, were stolen as part of the breach. This has raised concerns about the safety of crypto executives, who have become increasingly visible in recent years. The incident is a significant escalation in the ongoing threat landscape facing the cryptocurrency industry.
Coinbase revealed that attackers had bribed customer service representatives in India with cash to gain access to client data. Bloomberg News reported that information including names, dates of birth, addresses, nationalities, government ID numbers, some banking data, and details about when accounts were created and their balance were exposed. The thieves then demanded $20 million from Coinbase in exchange for covering up the incident, a demand the company refused to pay.
Coinbase began noticing unusual activity from some customer service representatives as far back as January, according to the company's confirmation in an interview with Bloomberg. This suggests that the attackers were able to gather information about Botha and other high-profile targets without being detected for several months.
The fact that information about Botha has not been previously reported hints at the type of wealthy and powerful targets that the outsiders were looking to compromise. Botha is a member of the so-called PayPal Mafia, an influential group of former PayPal employees that includes Peter Thiel and Elon Musk. He joined Sequoia, one of the world's foremost venture firms, in 2003, placing early bets on companies like YouTube and Instagram. He became the firm's leader in 2022.
Coinbase declined to comment on the matter. Botha didn't respond to a request for comment either. Some customers last weekend received alerts from Coinbase suggesting that their information had been improperly accessed, according to the person familiar with the matter.
The safety of crypto executives has become a topic of concern as the sector has become more visible. France's interior ministry assembled a group of executives on Friday to explain immediate steps the country is taking to end a wave of kidnappings targeting industry leaders. Those measures will include special checkups at the homes of crypto executives and specific briefings to them and their families.
The meeting comes after the daughter and grandson of chief executive officer of Paymium, a virtual currency exchange, were the targets of a failed kidnapping that took place in broad daylight in Paris. Before that, the father of another man made rich from cryptocurrency was taken, then freed two days later. Hackers have targeted the cryptocurrency industry for years, with suspected North Korean attackers exploiting the crypto exchange Bybit in February, causing a $1.5 billion incident that security researchers described as a bigger incident than any that came before it.