Cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb found partially liable in data leak

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has been found partially liable for a data leak in 2017 that cost a customer over $27,200.

At the same time, the FinTech was absolved of blame in one claim where one claimant lost over $126,600 and in another case where a victim lost $38,000, according to CryptoNews.

In all three cases, the claimants were said to have been targeted because of a data leak about their private information.

The cyber criminals were able to access the database with the information and then contacted the claimants, pretending to be working for Bithumb.

The hacker then tricked the users to give away verification codes, giving the criminal access to the victims’ accounts.

In the case that the judge found that Bithumb had been partially responsible for the losses, the judge said that the private information had been accessed through the breach.

Still, the judge added that the claimant should’ve recognised they were being conned.

In that case, Bithumb was ordered to pay $5,000 in damages.

In the two other cases, the judge said that the claimants’ private data could have also been accessed from other sources.

In 2018, Bithumb was reported to have sold a 50% of its business to BK Global Consortium.

The group, which is led by startup investor Kim Byung-gun, was already an investor in the company and was the fifth largest in the company.

The cryptocurrency space has lost considerably in terms of investment in the last two years, according to FinTech Global’s research. The research showed that the investment into the sector peaked in 2018 when $7.62bn was injected into the industry. It then slumped to $3.11bn in 2019. As a whole, the sector raised $578.2m in the first half of 2020.

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