Coinbase released a detailed report of an attempted phishing attack that occurred in May 2019, and the sophistication of the attack indicates that the attackers were operating with a big budget and an incredible amount of social-engineering effort.
In terms of their capabilities, there’s no sharp distinction between state-sponsored hackers and today's most sophisticated criminal groups, says Martin. Either way, attacks like this show that cryptocurrency companies must be prepared to fend off highly skilled attackers who may exploit previously unknown vulnerabilities, he says: “As this space continues to grow and develop and gain traction, it’s also going to gain traction with more and more sophisticated attackers.”