Raj Gokal from Solana Exposed Through Migos’ Instagram Following Attempted 40 BTC Extortion Scheme

Hackers infiltrated the Instagram account of the rap group Migos on May 27, sharing personal information belonging to Solana co-founder Raj Gokal, including his passport and phone number, after he declined to pay a ransom of 40 Bitcoin (BTC).

Blockchain analyst ZachXBT reported that the perpetrators had accessed one of Gokal’s email accounts days before the Instagram breach occurred.

The compromised account included know-your-customer (KYC) images of Gokal and his wife that had been synced to a cloud backup. Typically, users submit these types of images to cryptocurrency exchanges and other financial institutions.

On May 20, Gokal informed his followers that unidentified individuals had been attempting to seize control of his email and social media accounts, cautioning them to treat any unexpected token launches or fundraising requests as indicators of a successful breach.

After acquiring the sensitive documents, the attackers demanded 40 BTC to ensure the information remained confidential, as noted in one of the images posted. Gokal chose not to comply with their demands.

When the ransom attempt was unsuccessful, the same group took over Migos’ Instagram account, which boasts 13 million followers, and posted images of Gokal and his wife with their passports.

Gokal addressed the incident briefly through a comment on X, stating, “Always remember to dress up smart for your KYC photos. You never know what kind of reach they might get on social media.”

ZachXBT clarified that the breach utilized social-engineering tactics targeting Gokal’s email service, rather than exploiting any data from a recent breach at Coinbase, dispelling rumors linking the doxxing to that incident.

Coinbase disclosed on May 15 that it had experienced a data breach after individuals bribed support agents to gain access to its internal systems, leading to attacks on exchange customers through social engineering tactics.

In a filing made on May 15 with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Coinbase estimated that the costs for remediation and voluntary reimbursements to customers could range between $180 million and $400 million.