TaskUs, employee sued over insider role in Coinbase data breach

NEW YORK, UNITED STATES — A new class action lawsuit has revealed that an employee of outsourcing firm TaskUs played a central role in the data breach that compromised tens of thousands of Coinbase customers, intensifying scrutiny of how major tech firms manage sensitive data through third-party vendors.

According to the court filing, five Coinbase customers were listed as plaintiffs, while TaskUs and an unidentified individual were named as defendants.

Court links insider threats to Coinbase data breach

Coinbase first disclosed the incident in May 2025, stating that cybercriminals had bribed overseas support agents to steal customer data. 

The breach, which actually occurred in December 2024, exposed information from 69,000 Coinbase customers and prompted a ransom demand of $20 million, which the company refused to pay. Instead, Coinbase pledged a matching $20 million reward for information leading to the attackers’ capture.

The court documents, filed on September 16 with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, identified TaskUs, a Texas-based outsourcing firm owned by Blackstone, as a defendant in a class-action lawsuit. 

TaskUs previously ranked #19 in the OA500 2025, an objective index of the world’s top 500 outsourcing companies.

The filings alleged that TaskUs employees in India were handling Coinbase customer support and therefore had access to sensitive personal data.

According to a report from Infosecurity, Ashita Mishra, a former TaskUs employee, is accused of systematically stealing and selling Coinbase records as early as September 2024. 

Prosecutors said Mishra extracted up to 200 records per day, including names, email addresses, bank details, account balances, and Social Security numbers, selling them for $200 each.

By the time of her arrest in January 2025, investigators say she had amassed over 10,000 customer records and recruited supervisors and team leaders into the scheme.

TaskUs denies negligence in Coinbase insider breach case

In its response, TaskUs rejected the claims and told Outsource Accelerator that, “in early January 2025, TaskUs identified two individuals who illegally accessed customer information from Coinbase. We immediately reported this activity to Coinbase, terminated the individuals involved, and provided Coinbase with all of the evidence gathered in our investigation.”

In the court filing, TaskUs also claimed that the two individuals “were recruited by a much broader, coordinated criminal campaign against this client that also impacted a number of other providers servicing this client” and stressed that the scheme also affected other service providers. 

Plaintiffs, however, accuse TaskUs of negligence and even a cover-up. According to the filing, the company fired its own HR investigators who had identified security flaws months before the breach became public. It also claims TaskUs failed to enforce basic safeguards despite its access to highly sensitive customer information.

In its statement shared with Outsource Accelerator, TaskUs insists “the allegations are entirely without merit” and plans to defend itself “vigorously.”

Coinbase customers involved in the lawsuit are seeking financial compensation for stolen cryptocurrency and long-term exposure to identity theft. Some victims reportedly hired bodyguards, fearing they could be targeted due to the breach.

Global outsourcing faces risks after Coinbase breach

The case has become more than just a corporate scandal; it highlights the growing risks when critical customer data is outsourced overseas. 

Outsourcing remains a key strategy for tech companies to cut costs and scale rapidly, but the TaskUs-Coinbase case illustrates how insider threats and weak security protocols can create vulnerabilities with global repercussions.

TaskUs emphasized that it places “the highest priority on safeguarding the data of our clients and their customers.” It stated that it continues to invest heavily in global security protocols and training, including millions of dollars in physical and information security measures.

As outsourcing expands into deeper financial services and crypto, firms may need to balance efficiency with stronger safeguards or face rising legal and reputational risks.

Editor’s note: This story was updated to include TaskUs’ official statement, which was provided to Outsource Accelerator via email in response to recent allegations and a U.S. court filing.