Millions of email addresses stolen in the OpenSea data breach in 2022 have been publicly leaked by hackers, raising cybersecurity concerns. This disclosure provides more opportunities for phishing scams.
OpenSea Data Breach in 2022
In June 2022, OpenSea discovered that an employee of its email automation vendor, Customer.io, exposed over seven million customer emails to an unauthorized party. 'If you have shared your email with OpenSea, you should assume you were affected. We are working with Customer.io in their ongoing investigation, and we have reported this incident to law enforcement,' OpenSea stated at the time. Although the data breach occurred years ago, the exposed email addresses were not publicly accessible until 2024. However, the situation worsened when the hacked data became available online. This month, it was widely circulated making it accessible to anyone on the internet.
Implications of the Data Leak
The full public disclosure of these email addresses has raised serious concerns for OpenSea users and the global crypto community. Scammers now have a wealth of information to launch phishing attacks, targeting individuals with emails that appear legitimate but are intended to steal important information. Phishing remains one of the most damaging attack vectors. According to CertiK, approximately $1 billion in digital assets were stolen in just 296 attacks in 2024. These figures only relate to attacks reported by victims. With the large number of unreported incidents, the actual losses due to crypto-related security incidents may be substantially greater.
Tips to Prevent Phishing Attacks
Considering the massive losses users suffered because of data breaches, 23pds shared prevention tips for protecting personal data from unauthorized access and attacks: It's recommended not to use the same password on multiple platforms. A password manager is necessary for securely storing and managing your passwords. Enable authenticator apps such as Google Authenticator or Authy instead of using SMS-based 2FA. Protect yourself from phishing emails by not clicking on links and downloading attachments from unknown senders. Update your app to the latest software version to address security vulnerabilities hackers might exploit.
The public release of leaked email addresses from OpenSea underscores the need for enhanced data protection and phishing awareness. By following expert advice, users can significantly reduce the risk of falling victim to malicious attacks.
