Key Points
- Byte Federal Inc, a major Bitcoin ATM operator in the U.S., reported a data breach that impacted around 58,000 customers.
- The hackers accessed personal data, but no user funds or digital assets were compromised.
Byte Federal Inc, one of the leading operators of Bitcoin ATMs in the United States, has revealed a significant data breach.
This security incident, which took place on September 30, 2024, but was only identified on November 18, affected up to 58,000 customers.
According to a filing to the office of the Maine Attorney General by the company’s COO and CIO, Lee Hansen, 111 Maine residents were among those impacted.
The breach was executed via an external system.
Data Breach Details
The company had previously pointed out that unauthorized access was gained to one of their servers via a vulnerability on GitLab, a third-party software platform.
Despite the breach, Byte Federal stressed that no user funds or digital assets were compromised.
However, the hacker managed to steal critical user information that could potentially jeopardize overall security.
This included personal data such as on-chain transaction history, photographs of users, phone numbers, email addresses, government-issued IDs, social security numbers, physical addresses, birth dates, and names.
The attackers could use this information to track down Byte Federal customers and coerce them into cashing out funds, as seen in previous similar incidents.
In response, Byte Federal has advised all customers to reset their login credentials to reduce the risk of fraud and identity theft.
The company also recommended customers to activate a fraud alert or a security freeze feature with the appropriate agencies.
Byte Federal’s Influence on the Bitcoin and Altcoin Industry
In recent years, Byte Federal has expanded to over 1,200 Bitcoin ATMs across the United States.
Following the breach, the company performed a hard reset on all customer accounts and updated all internal passwords to prevent further damage.
However, this incident has eroded customer trust, which may result in their personal information being sold on darknet marketplaces.
As a result, Byte Federal may face challenges in attracting new customers in the near term, compared to its competitors.
Major Bitcoin ATM companies in the United States include General Bytes, Genesis Coin, BitAccess, and Bitstop.
The cryptocurrency industry is expected to continue growing exponentially as more Web2 companies participate and lawmakers enact favorable regulations.
Furthermore, the United States is predicted to enact strategic Bitcoin reserve legislation to purchase up to 1 million BTCs to help combat the national debt crisis.
