Coinbase Dodged a Cyber Bullet 🎯: GitHub Hack Drama Unfolds!

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In the shadowy labyrinth of cyberspace, where the lines between good and evil blur, Coinbase found itself at the center of a digital tempest. The exchange, a titan in the crypto realm, was the first to face the wrath of a GitHub Actions supply chain attack, as revealed by the ever-watchful eyes of cybersecurity firms Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 and Wiz. 🕵️‍♂️

The first whispers of this digital siege emerged on March 14, 2025. The attacker, a cunning specter, exploited a vulnerability in tj-actions/changed-files, a tool nestled within GitHub’s vast ecosystem. Their target? Coinbase’s open-source project, AgentKit. But Coinbase, ever vigilant, thwarted their advance with the precision of a seasoned chess player. Undeterred, the hacker shifted their gaze to a sea of other repositories, leaving chaos in their wake. 🌊

Before unleashing their digital fury, the hacker conducted over 20 test runs, each a rehearsal for their grand performance. When Coinbase slammed the door in their face, they pivoted, targeting all versions of tj-actions/changed-files. The attack cast a shadow over 23,000 repositories, though Unit 42 suspects the true number could be far greater. Wiz, another sentinel in the cybersecurity realm, traced the hacker’s digital footprints, suggesting they were an active member of the crypto community, likely hailing from Europe or Africa. Coinbase, tight-lipped as ever, has yet to issue an official statement, but experts agree their swift action averted catastrophe. 🛡️

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With Coinbase out of reach, the hacker turned their attention to a broader audience. Endor Labs, another guardian of the digital frontier, discovered that at least 218 repositories had been compromised. The fallout? Leaked AWS, npm, Dockerhub, and GitHub access tokens—keys to the kingdom of developer tools. Thankfully, most of these tokens expired swiftly, minimizing the damage. Henrik Plate of Endor Labs noted that while the attack initially seemed relentless, Coinbase’s quick reflexes likely forced the hacker to change course. 🎭

Yu Jian, the sage founder of SlowMist, issued a dire warning: had this attack succeeded, it could have rivaled the ByBit hack of February 2025, where hackers absconded with a staggering $1.5 billion. He urged firms using GitHub tools like tj-actions to conduct regular security audits, lest they become the next pawn in this high-stakes game. 🚨

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2025-03-24 19:33