BitPay Social Engineering - Revision history

Azoundria: COMPLETE 30 minutes. Review and integration of extensive information from the CoinDesk article, including information from the insurance refusal. Added technical details of the BitPay impersonation chain and resulting transactions. Adding in further details to the timeline.

2024-09-30T22:09:35Z

COMPLETE 30 minutes. Review and integration of extensive information from the CoinDesk article, including information from the insurance refusal. Added technical details of the BitPay impersonation chain and resulting transactions. Adding in further details to the timeline.

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:09, 30 September 2024
Line 1:		Line 1:
	{{~~Imported~~ Case Study ~~2\|source=https://www.quadrigainitiative.com/casestudy/bitpaysocialengineering.php~~}}		{{Case Study Under Construction}}{{Unattributed Sources}}
	{{Unattributed Sources}}

	Although not a cryptocurrency exchange, this kind of exploit could apply to many exchanges that have more personal relationships with customers.		Although not a cryptocurrency exchange, this kind of exploit could apply to many exchanges that have more personal relationships with customers.
Line 7:		Line 6:

	== About BitPay ==		== About BitPay ==
	“According to a lawsuit filed Sept. 15 in federal court in Atlanta, in December 2014, Bryan Krohn, Bitpay's chief financial officer, got an email from someone purporting to be with a digital currency publication asking Krohn to comment on a bitcoin industry document.” “Unknown to Krohn or Bitpay, the email sender's computer had been hacked, and the hacker sent the phony email that directed Krohn to a website controlled by the hacker, where Krohn provided the credentials for his Bitpay corporate email account, according to the lawsuit.” "After capturing Mr. Krohn's Bitpay credentials, the hacker used that information to hack into Mr. Krohn's Bitpay email account to fraudulently cause a transfer of bitcoin" valued at $1,850,000, the lawsuit says. “The next day, the imposter sent another email to the CEO asking him to send an additional 3000 bitcoins to the customer. The CEO emailed Krohn to confirm the request, and the imposter sent back an email saying the transfer was valid. The CEO then sent the bitcoins.” “The scam was apparently discovered because the CEO copied Bitpay's real customer on the final email about the transfer of the 3,000 coins, and the customer then replied back that they did not purchase the bitcoins.”

	This exchange or platform is based in United States, or the incident targeted people primarily in United States.		This exchange or platform is based in United States, or the incident targeted people primarily in United States.
Line 44:		Line 43:
	!Description		!Description
	\|-		\|-
	\|~~September 1st~~, ~~2015 12:00:44 AM MDT~~		\|December 11th, 2014
	\|~~Main Event~~		\|Bitcoin Payments Made
	\|~~Expand this into a brief description of what happened~~ and ~~the impact~~. ~~If multiple lines~~ are ~~necessary~~, ~~add~~ them ~~here~~.		\|BitPay CEO Stephen Pair and executive chairman Tony Gallippi authorize 3 payments totaling 5,000 bitcoin on December 11th and 12th<ref name="coindesk-217" />. They believe that these bitcoin are headed for SecondMarket, but instead they are sending them to a malicious entity who has gained unauthorized access to Bryan Krohn's email account to forward the request.
			\|-
			\|June 8th, 2015
			\|Insurance Claim Denied
			\|Massachusetts Bay Insurance Company denies the claim to cover the lost bitcoin which was submitted by BitPay<ref name="coindesk-217" />.
			\|-
			\|September 15th, 2015
			\|BitPay Files Lawsuit
			\|BitPay files a lawsuit against the Massachusetts Bay Insurance Company in the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia<ref name="coindesk-217" />.
	\|-		\|-
	\|		\|September 16th, 2015 9:51:00 PM MDT
	\|		\|CoinDesk Article About Lawsuit
	\|		\|CoinDesk publishes an article about the lawsuit<ref name="coindesk-217" />.
	\|}		\|}

			== Technical Details ==
			The attack appears to have taken place over multiple stages.

			=== Infiltration Of BTC Media CEO David Bailey ===
			According to a lawsuit and documents obtained by the Atlanta Business Chronicle, the first stage of intrusion was through the infiltration of BTC Media CEO David Bailey, whose computer was reportedly infiltrated<ref name="coindesk-217" />. It is unclear whether the computer was infiltrated or just the email account, and how this intrusion happened.

			=== Phishing Email To Access BitPay CFO Bryan Krohn ===
			According to the lawsuit files, Bryan Krohn, who was acting as BitPay's chief financial officer, was sent an email from BTC Media CEO David Bailey's account. This reportedly asked Krohn to comment on a bitcoin industry document. The industry document, however, was a ruse to get Bryan Krohn to click on a link to the attacker's website, which captured his email access credentials when he attempted to log in to view the document.

			=== Impersonation To Fraudulently Purchase Bitcoin ===
			The hacker used Mr. Krohn's credentials to determine that SecondMarket had a relationship with BitPay where they did not have to pay upfront to purchase bitcoin. They created a fictitious email conversation history between Mr. Krohn and SecondMarket for a purchase of 1,000 BTC. This was then forwarded to BitPay CEO Stephen Pair and executive chairman Tony Gallippi.

			=== Continuation Of Further Fraudulent Purchases ===
			The hacker proceeded to purchase another 1,000 BTC under similar pretext, then attempted a larger purchase of 3,000 BTC. The BitPay CEO Stephen Pair emailed Krohn to confirm this was valid, and the hacker responded to confirm it was. In this email, SecondMarket employee Gina Guarnaccia was copied, who quickly revealed that the bitcoin had not been purchased by their company.

			<ref name="coindesk-217" /><blockquote>Further, the insurance company argued that because bitcoins exist in an electronic medium, any incident resulting in their loss wouldn't be considered as taking place on BitPay’s "premises".

			"It is Hanover's understanding that the bitcoins were held online, and transferred online, and are not on the physical premises of BitPay. It does not appear that the bitcoin transactions involved a transfer of property from inside the premises to outside the premises," the insurer wrote. "As such, Hanover must respectfully decline to provide coverage for this loss under the Computer Fraud Insuring Agreement."</blockquote>

	== Total Amount Lost ==		== Total Amount Lost ==
	The total amount lost has been estimated at $1,800,000 USD.		The total amount lost has been estimated at $1,800,000 USD.

	~~How much was lost and how was it calculated? If there are conflicting reports, which are accurate and where does the discrepancy lie?~~

	== Immediate Reactions ==		== Immediate Reactions ==
Line 62:		Line 86:

	== Ultimate Outcome ==		== Ultimate Outcome ==
	~~What~~ was the ~~end result? Was any investigation done? Were any individuals prosecuted? Was there a lawsuit? Was any tracing done?~~		“The scam was apparently discovered because the CEO copied Bitpay's real customer on the final email about the transfer of the 3,000 coins, and the customer then replied back that they did not purchase the bitcoins.”

	== Total Amount Recovered ==		== Total Amount Recovered ==
Line 89:		Line 113:

	== References ==		== References ==
	<references><ref name="kylegibson-86">[https://medium.com/@kylegibson/100-crypto-thefts-a-timeline-of-hacks-glitches-exit-scams-and-other-lost-cryptocurrency-873c87fd5522 100 Crypto Thefts: A Timeline of Hacks, Glitches, Exit Scams, and other Lost Cryptocurrency Incidents] (Jan 25, 2020)</ref>		<references>
			<ref name="kylegibson-86">[https://medium.com/@kylegibson/100-crypto-thefts-a-timeline-of-hacks-glitches-exit-scams-and-other-lost-cryptocurrency-873c87fd5522 100 Crypto Thefts: A Timeline of Hacks, Glitches, Exit Scams, and other Lost Cryptocurrency Incidents] (Accessed Jan 25, 2020)</ref>
	<ref name="coindesk-217">[https://www.coindesk.com/bitpay-sues-insurer-after-losing-1-8-million-in-phishing-attack BitPay Sues Insurer After Losing $1.8 Million in Phishing Attack] (Mar 5, 2020)</ref>		<ref name="coindesk-217">[https://www.coindesk.com/bitpay-sues-insurer-after-losing-1-8-million-in-phishing-attack BitPay Sues Insurer After Losing $1.8 Million in Phishing Attack - CoinDesk] (Accessed Mar 5, 2020)</ref>
			<ref name="bitcoinexchangeguide-218">[https://bitcoinexchangeguide.com/bitcoin/scams-hacks/ Bitcoin Scams and Cryptocurrency Hacks List - BitcoinExchangeGuide.com] (Accessed Mar 5, 2020)</ref>
	<ref name="bitcoinexchangeguide-218">[https://bitcoinexchangeguide.com/bitcoin/scams-hacks/ Bitcoin Scams and Cryptocurrency Hacks List - BitcoinExchangeGuide.com] (Mar 5, 2020)</ref>		<ref name="bizjournals-256">[https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/atlantech/2015/09/atlantas-bitpay-got-hacked-for-1-8-million-in.html Atlanta's Bitpay got hacked for $1.8 million in bitcoins - BizJournals] (Accessed Mar 14, 2020)</ref>
			</references>
	<ref name="bizjournals-256">[https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/atlantech/2015/09/atlantas-bitpay-got-hacked-for-1-8-million-in.html Atlanta's Bitpay got hacked for $1.8 million in bitcoins] (Mar 14, 2020)</ref></references>

Azoundria at 23:59, 12 April 2023

2023-04-12T23:59:01Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:59, 12 April 2023
Line 1:		Line 1:
	{{Imported Case Study\|source=https://www.quadrigainitiative.com/casestudy/bitpaysocialengineering.php}}		{{Imported Case Study 2\|source=https://www.quadrigainitiative.com/casestudy/bitpaysocialengineering.php}}
	{{Unattributed ~~Citations~~}}		{{Unattributed Sources}}

	Although not a cryptocurrency exchange, this kind of exploit could apply to many exchanges that have more personal relationships with customers.		Although not a cryptocurrency exchange, this kind of exploit could apply to many exchanges that have more personal relationships with customers.

	This exchange or platform is based in United States, or the incident targeted people primarily in United States.		This exchange or platform is based in United States, or the incident targeted people primarily in United States.<ref name="kylegibson-86" /><ref name="coindesk-217" /><ref name="bitcoinexchangeguide-218" /><ref name="bizjournals-256" />
	<ref name="kylegibson-86" /><ref name="coindesk-217" /><ref name="bitcoinexchangeguide-218" /><ref name="bizjournals-256" />

	== About BitPay ==		== About BitPay ==
Line 45:		Line 44:
	!Description		!Description
	\|-		\|-
	\|September 1st, 2015 12:00:44 AM		\|September 1st, 2015 12:00:44 AM MDT
	\|Main Event		\|Main Event
	\|Expand this into a brief description of what happened and the impact. If multiple lines are necessary, add them here.		\|Expand this into a brief description of what happened and the impact. If multiple lines are necessary, add them here.
Line 72:		Line 71:
	== Ongoing Developments ==		== Ongoing Developments ==
	What parts of this case are still remaining to be concluded?		What parts of this case are still remaining to be concluded?
			== General Prevention Policies ==
			Coming soon.
			== Individual Prevention Policies ==
			{{Prevention:Individuals:Placeholder}}

			{{Prevention:Individuals:End}}

	== Prevention Policies ==		== Platform Prevention Policies ==
	~~Coming soon.~~		{{Prevention:Platforms:Placeholder}}

			{{Prevention:Platforms:End}}

			== Regulatory Prevention Policies ==
			{{Prevention:Regulators:Placeholder}}

			{{Prevention:Regulators:End}}

	== References ==		== References ==
	<references><ref name="kylegibson-86">[https://medium.com/@kylegibson/100-crypto-thefts-a-timeline-of-hacks-glitches-exit-scams-and-other-lost-cryptocurrency-873c87fd5522 100 Crypto Thefts: A Timeline of Hacks, Glitches, Exit Scams, and other Lost Cryptocurrency Incidents] (Jan 25, 2020)</ref>		<references><ref name="kylegibson-86">[https://medium.com/@kylegibson/100-crypto-thefts-a-timeline-of-hacks-glitches-exit-scams-and-other-lost-cryptocurrency-873c87fd5522 100 Crypto Thefts: A Timeline of Hacks, Glitches, Exit Scams, and other Lost Cryptocurrency Incidents] (Jan 25, 2020)</ref>

	<ref name="coindesk-217">[https://www.coindesk.com/bitpay-sues-insurer-after-losing-1-8-million-in-phishing-attack BitPay Sues Insurer After Losing $1.8 Million in Phishing Attack] (Mar 4, 2020)</ref>		<ref name="coindesk-217">[https://www.coindesk.com/bitpay-sues-insurer-after-losing-1-8-million-in-phishing-attack BitPay Sues Insurer After Losing $1.8 Million in Phishing Attack] (Mar 5, 2020)</ref>

	<ref name="bitcoinexchangeguide-218">[https://bitcoinexchangeguide.com/bitcoin/scams-hacks/ Bitcoin Scams and Cryptocurrency Hacks List - BitcoinExchangeGuide.com] (Mar 5, 2020)</ref>		<ref name="bitcoinexchangeguide-218">[https://bitcoinexchangeguide.com/bitcoin/scams-hacks/ Bitcoin Scams and Cryptocurrency Hacks List - BitcoinExchangeGuide.com] (Mar 5, 2020)</ref>

	<ref name="bizjournals-256">[https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/atlantech/2015/09/atlantas-bitpay-got-hacked-for-1-8-million-in.html Atlanta's Bitpay got hacked for $1.8 million in bitcoins] (Mar 13, 2020)</ref></references>		<ref name="bizjournals-256">[https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/atlantech/2015/09/atlantas-bitpay-got-hacked-for-1-8-million-in.html Atlanta's Bitpay got hacked for $1.8 million in bitcoins] (Mar 14, 2020)</ref></references>

Azoundria at 00:52, 16 February 2023

2023-02-16T00:52:34Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:52, 15 February 2023
Line 1:		Line 1:
	{{Imported Case Study\|source=https://www.quadrigainitiative.com/casestudy/bitpaysocialengineering.php}}		{{Imported Case Study\|source=https://www.quadrigainitiative.com/casestudy/bitpaysocialengineering.php}}
			{{Unattributed Citations}}

	Although not a cryptocurrency exchange, this kind of exploit could apply to many exchanges that have more personal relationships with customers.		Although not a cryptocurrency exchange, this kind of exploit could apply to many exchanges that have more personal relationships with customers.

	This exchange or platform is based in United States, or the incident targeted people primarily in United States.		This exchange or platform is based in United States, or the incident targeted people primarily in United States.
			<ref name="kylegibson-86" /><ref name="coindesk-217" /><ref name="bitcoinexchangeguide-218" /><ref name="bizjournals-256" />

	== About BitPay ==		== About BitPay ==
Line 23:		Line 25:

	Don't Include:		Don't Include:

	* Any wording which directly states or implies that the business is/was illegitimate, or that a vulnerability existed.		* Any wording which directly states or implies that the business is/was illegitimate, or that a vulnerability existed.
	* Anything that wasn't reasonably knowable at the time of the event.		* Anything that wasn't reasonably knowable at the time of the event.
Line 45:		Line 46:
	\|-		\|-
	\|September 1st, 2015 12:00:44 AM		\|September 1st, 2015 12:00:44 AM
	\|~~First~~ Event		\|Main Event
	\|~~This is an expanded~~ description of what happened and the impact. If multiple lines are necessary, add them here.		\|Expand this into a brief description of what happened and the impact. If multiple lines are necessary, add them here.
	\|-
	\|
	\|
	\|
	\|-		\|-
	\|		\|
Line 58:		Line 55:

	== Total Amount Lost ==		== Total Amount Lost ==
	The total amount lost ~~is unknown~~.		The total amount lost has been estimated at $1,800,000 USD.

	How much was lost and how was it calculated? If there are conflicting reports, which are accurate and where does the discrepancy lie?		How much was lost and how was it calculated? If there are conflicting reports, which are accurate and where does the discrepancy lie?
Line 69:		Line 66:

	== Total Amount Recovered ==		== Total Amount Recovered ==
	~~It is unknown how much was~~ recovered.		There do not appear to have been any funds recovered in this case.

	What funds were recovered? What funds were reimbursed for those affected users?		What funds were recovered? What funds were reimbursed for those affected users?
Line 80:		Line 77:

	== References ==		== References ==
	[https://medium.com/@kylegibson/100-crypto-thefts-a-timeline-of-hacks-glitches-exit-scams-and-other-lost-cryptocurrency-873c87fd5522 100 Crypto Thefts: A Timeline of Hacks, Glitches, Exit Scams, and other Lost Cryptocurrency Incidents] (Jan 24)		<references><ref name="kylegibson-86">[https://medium.com/@kylegibson/100-crypto-thefts-a-timeline-of-hacks-glitches-exit-scams-and-other-lost-cryptocurrency-873c87fd5522 100 Crypto Thefts: A Timeline of Hacks, Glitches, Exit Scams, and other Lost Cryptocurrency Incidents] (Jan 25, 2020)</ref>

	[https://www.coindesk.com/bitpay-sues-insurer-after-losing-1-8-million-in-phishing-attack BitPay Sues Insurer After Losing $1.8 Million in Phishing Attack] (Mar 4)		<ref name="coindesk-217">[https://www.coindesk.com/bitpay-sues-insurer-after-losing-1-8-million-in-phishing-attack BitPay Sues Insurer After Losing $1.8 Million in Phishing Attack] (Mar 4, 2020)</ref>

	[https://bitcoinexchangeguide.com/bitcoin/scams-hacks/ Bitcoin Scams and Cryptocurrency Hacks List - BitcoinExchangeGuide.com] (Mar 4)		<ref name="bitcoinexchangeguide-218">[https://bitcoinexchangeguide.com/bitcoin/scams-hacks/ Bitcoin Scams and Cryptocurrency Hacks List - BitcoinExchangeGuide.com] (Mar 5, 2020)</ref>

	[https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/atlantech/2015/09/atlantas-bitpay-got-hacked-for-1-8-million-in.html Atlanta's Bitpay got hacked for $1.8 million in bitcoins] (Mar 13)		<ref name="bizjournals-256">[https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/atlantech/2015/09/atlantas-bitpay-got-hacked-for-1-8-million-in.html Atlanta's Bitpay got hacked for $1.8 million in bitcoins] (Mar 13, 2020)</ref></references>

Azoundria: Created page with "{{Imported Case Study|source=https://www.quadrigainitiative.com/casestudy/bitpaysocialengineering.php}} Although not a cryptocurrency exchange, this kind of exploit could apply to many exchanges that have more personal relationships with customers. This exchange or platform is based in United States, or the incident targeted people primarily in United States. == About BitPay == “According to a lawsuit filed Sept. 15 in federal court in Atlanta, in December 2014, Bry..."

2023-01-24T20:46:13Z

Created page with "{{Imported Case Study|source=https://www.quadrigainitiative.com/casestudy/bitpaysocialengineering.php}} Although not a cryptocurrency exchange, this kind of exploit could apply to many exchanges that have more personal relationships with customers. This exchange or platform is based in United States, or the incident targeted people primarily in United States. == About BitPay == “According to a lawsuit filed Sept. 15 in federal court in Atlanta, in December 2014, Bry..."

New page

{{Imported Case Study|source=https://www.quadrigainitiative.com/casestudy/bitpaysocialengineering.php}}

Although not a cryptocurrency exchange, this kind of exploit could apply to many exchanges that have more personal relationships with customers.

This exchange or platform is based in United States, or the incident targeted people primarily in United States.

== About BitPay ==
“According to a lawsuit filed Sept. 15 in federal court in Atlanta, in December 2014, Bryan Krohn, Bitpay's chief financial officer, got an email from someone purporting to be with a digital currency publication asking Krohn to comment on a bitcoin industry document.” “Unknown to Krohn or Bitpay, the email sender's computer had been hacked, and the hacker sent the phony email that directed Krohn to a website controlled by the hacker, where Krohn provided the credentials for his Bitpay corporate email account, according to the lawsuit.” "After capturing Mr. Krohn's Bitpay credentials, the hacker used that information to hack into Mr. Krohn's Bitpay email account to fraudulently cause a transfer of bitcoin" valued at $1,850,000, the lawsuit says. “The next day, the imposter sent another email to the CEO asking him to send an additional 3000 bitcoins to the customer. The CEO emailed Krohn to confirm the request, and the imposter sent back an email saying the transfer was valid. The CEO then sent the bitcoins.” “The scam was apparently discovered because the CEO copied Bitpay's real customer on the final email about the transfer of the 3,000 coins, and the customer then replied back that they did not purchase the bitcoins.”

This exchange or platform is based in United States, or the incident targeted people primarily in United States.

The background of the exchange platform, service, or individuals involved, as it would have been seen or understood at the time of the events.

Include:

* Known history of when and how the service was started.
* What problems does the company or service claim to solve?
* What marketing materials were used by the firm or business?
* Audits performed, and excerpts that may have been included.
* Business registration documents shown (fake or legitimate).
* How were people recruited to participate?
* Public warnings and announcements prior to the event.

Don't Include:

* Any wording which directly states or implies that the business is/was illegitimate, or that a vulnerability existed.
* Anything that wasn't reasonably knowable at the time of the event.
There could be more than one section here. If the same platform is involved with multiple incidents, then it can be linked to a main article page.

== The Reality ==
This sections is included if a case involved deception or information that was unknown at the time. Examples include:

* When the service was actually started (if different than the "official story").
* Who actually ran a service and their own personal history.
* How the service was structured behind the scenes. (For example, there was no "trading bot".)
* Details of what audits reported and how vulnerabilities were missed during auditing.

== What Happened ==
The specific events of the loss and how it came about. What actually happened to cause the loss and some of the events leading up to it.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Key Event Timeline - BitPay Social Engineering
!Date
!Event
!Description
|-
|September 1st, 2015 12:00:44 AM
|First Event
|This is an expanded description of what happened and the impact. If multiple lines are necessary, add them here.
|-
|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|}

== Total Amount Lost ==
The total amount lost is unknown.

How much was lost and how was it calculated? If there are conflicting reports, which are accurate and where does the discrepancy lie?

== Immediate Reactions ==
How did the various parties involved (firm, platform, management, and/or affected individual(s)) deal with the events? Were services shut down? Were announcements made? Were groups formed?

== Ultimate Outcome ==
What was the end result? Was any investigation done? Were any individuals prosecuted? Was there a lawsuit? Was any tracing done?

== Total Amount Recovered ==
It is unknown how much was recovered.

What funds were recovered? What funds were reimbursed for those affected users?

== Ongoing Developments ==
What parts of this case are still remaining to be concluded?

== Prevention Policies ==
Coming soon.

== References ==
[https://medium.com/@kylegibson/100-crypto-thefts-a-timeline-of-hacks-glitches-exit-scams-and-other-lost-cryptocurrency-873c87fd5522 100 Crypto Thefts: A Timeline of Hacks, Glitches, Exit Scams, and other Lost Cryptocurrency Incidents] (Jan 24)

[https://www.coindesk.com/bitpay-sues-insurer-after-losing-1-8-million-in-phishing-attack BitPay Sues Insurer After Losing $1.8 Million in Phishing Attack] (Mar 4)

[https://bitcoinexchangeguide.com/bitcoin/scams-hacks/ Bitcoin Scams and Cryptocurrency Hacks List - BitcoinExchangeGuide.com] (Mar 4)

[https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/atlantech/2015/09/atlantas-bitpay-got-hacked-for-1-8-million-in.html Atlanta's Bitpay got hacked for $1.8 million in bitcoins] (Mar 13)