Bits of Gold hit by data breach, 200,000 customers possibly affected

The Israeli crypto broker Bits of Gold has been hit by a data breach in which personal data of approximately 200,000 customers may have been stolen. This concerns names, ID numbers, email addresses, IP addresses, phone numbers and bank account details. Balances, passwords and credit card data were not affected, according to the company. Bits of Gold is the largest regulated crypto broker in Israel and has an estimated 300,000 registered customers.

In brief:

• Personal data of around 200,000 Bits of Gold customers may have been stolen in a cyberattack.
• The leak is part of a global attack on a software supplier used by hundreds of companies.
• Digital balances, passwords and credit card data are not involved in the incident.

Attack via external software supplier

Bits of Gold reports that the incident took place a few days ago. Attackers gained unauthorised access to an external support system for data analysis that the company uses. Once the leak was discovered, Bits of Gold blocked access and disconnected the system from its information sources.

According to Israeli tech outlet Calcalist, this concerns a broader cyber incident in which a software company used by hundreds of companies worldwide was attacked. At this time, no other Israeli company is known to have been affected by the same incident. The expectation is therefore that Bits of Gold was not a deliberate target.

Customers warned about phishing

The company has called on its customers to be vigilant against phishing attempts, suspicious messages and identity fraud. The stolen data could be misused to impersonate official bodies or the company itself. Bits of Gold states that it never asks for passwords, verification codes or private keys, and will never ask for money or crypto to be transferred to another address.

The company has notified the relevant authorities and is working with a specialised firm for cyber incident investigation and recovery. According to Bits of Gold, services continue to run as normal.

Israel’s first VASP licence

In 2022, Bits of Gold became the first company to receive a VASP licence from the Israeli Capital Market Authority, the capital markets regulator. The company has around 55 employees and serves approximately 300,000 registered customers, which means the data breach potentially affects the majority of its customer base.

Recently, Bits of Gold signed a cooperation agreement with the Paz Group, allowing customers to buy crypto through the Yellow wallet at the company. Earlier, Bits of Gold also received approval for the launch of BILS, a stablecoin linked to the Israeli shekel.