Often dubbed the Amazon of NFTs, OpenSea the biggest non-fungible token marketplace in the world, with an estimated value of 13 billion dollars and more than 1.8 million users, has reported a security breach that resulted in the leak of all user e-mail addresses.
According to OpenSea representatives, a staff member at Customer.io, an OpenSea email vendor contractor, had downloaded the email addresses of all users, past and present, and sold them to a third party.
It’s not yet clear if other user personal information was also exposed but, as OpenSea stated in its announcement:
“If you have shared your email with OpenSea in the past, you should assume you were impacted.”
While disgruntled employees looking to make a profit and supply chain vulnerabilities are nothing new, the recent interest in NFTs and the huge sums being flung around are a novelty. Moreover, they caught the eye of cybercriminals, scammers and malicious actors of all kinds. That’s why, if you were an OpenSea user and your email address was exposed, you should be extra careful. Here’s what you should do:
Watch out for phishing messages and scam attempts. As you probably already know, some bad actors will do anything to get your NFTs and your money. For example, after the OpenSea Discord server was hacked in May, a massive wave of phishing attacks ensued. Now, history is likely going to repeat itself, especially as some users are already reporting an increase in spammy emails, messages and phone calls.
Review your security options. With only your email address, bad guys can’t inflict too much damage directly. Sure, they can suffocate you with spam, and send phishing messages, but that’s about it. However, if you attack a weak password to that email address, things can go south very quickly. They can hijack your email account along with many other connected accounts.
Keep track of your digital identity. Regrettably, this isn’t the first or the last time your email address will be leaked on the internet. Chances are it’s already been involved in other data breaches, along with other sensitive personal information like your name, phone number, address, Social Security number, and maybe even your credit card information. But knowing your data was leaked isn’t enough if you can’t do anything about it. Fortunately, there are tools that can help you. By using Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection, you can manage your digital footprint and see if any of your personal information has been exposed. Your email address is a good starting point for that. Moreover, because a quick response is critical, DIP (Digital Identity Protection) constantly scans the dark web for stolen credentials, so if one of your passwords ever surfaces online, you will know in real-time, so you can act and protect your identity.
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Radu is a tech-geek with 15 years of experience in writing, journalism and copywriting. When he’s not writing he’s probably taking something apart, trying to figure out how things work.
View all postsSeptember 06, 2024
September 02, 2024