Hackers leaked Solana co-founder Raj Gokal’s personal data via Migos’ Instagram, demanding 40 BTC in a failed extortion attempt.
Photos of Gokal and his wife displaying identifying documents, such as passports and driver’s licenses, were among the leaked content.
Hackers leaked the private data of the co-founder of Solana
The hackers shared at least seven images with Migos’ 13 million followers. Although it is regrettably common to breach high-profile accounts to promote meme coins or conduct rug pulls, this incident was notable for its apparent unsuccessful extortion attempt.
According to the caption accompanying one of Gokal’s images, hackers purportedly requested 40 Bitcoin (BTC) from him.
“You should’ve paid the 40 BTC,” the caption read.
In the interim, an additional photograph of Gokal holding his passport was shared with the accompanying caption:
“It was only 40 BTC.. should’ve paid.”
Furthermore, certain images appeared to contain more private information, including email addresses and phone numbers. The hackers disclosed Gokal’s personal telephone number in one of the postings and encouraged his followers to spam him. Additionally, a photograph of an individual named “Arvind” was included in one of the posts.
“There appears to be a guy Arvind who’s had his public SOL balance (or maybe it’s Raj’s?) leaked here,” Andy, co-founder of The Rollup, posted on X.
The posts were visible for approximately 90 minutes before Meta removed them and reclaimed control of the account. In addition to the disclosed images, the hackers modified Migos’ Instagram bio to promote a meme coin.
“Also, there was just a link posted to a telegram group which is selling unreleased music,” Andy added.
ZachXBT, a blockchain investigator, also provided his perspective on the incident. He proposed that social engineering tactics were likely employed to target Gokal’s personal accounts in the past week.
“They tried to extort him for funds with the PII obtained. Guess he didn’t pay so they started trolling and posted it after they compromised Migos Instagram account today,” ZachXBT stated.
The breach continues Gokal’s previous warning regarding X. Hackers had recently attempted to access his numerous online accounts, and he informed users of this.
“Attackers have been trying to take control of my email, social media, Google, Apple, etc. this past week. If you see anything suspect (token launch, soliciting funds, etc) that means they got through. be careful out there,” Gokal cautioned.
Is the Coinbase Breach Related to the Data Leak of the Solana Co-Founder?
In the interim, the characteristics of the disclosed images indicated that they may be Know Your Customer (KYC) verification files. This has prompted apprehension regarding a potential correlation with the recent Coinbase data breach.
As previously reported, the exchange experienced a data compromise that affected approximately 1% of its monthly active users. The incident was disclosed due to a $20 million ransom demand from hackers to Coinbase, which the company declined to satisfy.
“If they have the KYC for the founders of Solana, then they have the KYC for every single person that ever used their platform and this wasn’t even the KYC information like their address, it was the photos from the self verification you have to do when you send a picture of yourself with your passport this is like 10 times worse than a regular KYC leak,” an analyst wrote.
Yet, there is no concrete evidence that connects Coinbase to Gokal’s data breach, despite the speculation. Meta has not released a public statement concerning the incident. Additionally, Gokal has not yet issued an official statement regarding the breach.