Bitcoin: BitMEX just accidentally leaked THOUSANDS of private email addresses

Notifying users of a forthcoming index update later this month, hundreds of batches of mass mailshots had the email addresses of a thousand customers in each one. It means every customer emailed was handed the details of 999 other BitMEX users – with around 15% of the addresses made up of first and last names. The clumsy breach could yet land the crypto derivative trading platform in hot water, with data issues not being taken lightly in the crypto and blockchain industry.

Responding to this morning’s monumental gaffe, BitMEX insisted that customer privacy remained its ‘top priority’ as it apologised for the error.

“We are aware that some of our users have received a general user update email earlier today, which contained the email addresses of other users,” it said in a rushed statement.

“We are very sorry for the concern this has caused to our users.”

BitMEX – the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume – added that it had acted immediately upon discovering the leak and continued to work on “containing the issue”.

The hasty apology will offer little comfort to traders whose email addresses suddenly became available to hundreds of other users.

While BitMEX attempted to “identify the root cause of the fault”, many traders took to social media to vent their despair at such a catastrophic and sloppy error.

Twitter was awash with a mix of humour and anger towards the Seychelles-based platform.

“Give me back all the liquidated positions and we are fine Arthur, no biggie,” joked @crypto_rand while another jested: “Distribute some BTC from your insurance fund and we’ll all be happy.”

Others didn’t take the news so lightly, however. Questions were asked about how it would be possible to trust BitMEX with huge personal assets in the aftermath of such a slapdash blunder.

“Everything about Bitcoin and cryptocurrency should be based on TRUST – that’s why blockchain technology was invented – which is why it’s going to be difficult to have faith in BitMEX beyond this,” slammed one disgruntled user.

Another – @jchervinsky said: “BitMEX just doxxed its users in the most outrageously incompetent way imaginable: forgetting to use blind copy on mass email. Someone must be cleaning out their desk already.”

Coin Rivet is a website bringing news, information, analysis, opinion and insight from the fast-moving blockchain world.
source: express.co.uk