India’s Back Offices Become New Frontline in Global Cyber Threats
Recently, hackers infiltrated customer service operations for major US companies, including cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, by bribing call-center workers in India
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As cybercriminals find new ways to exploit global systems, India’s outsourced call centers are emerging as a weak link in the corporate cybersecurity chain.
Recently, hackers infiltrated customer service operations for major US companies, including cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, by bribing call-center workers in India.
The breach reportedly cost Coinbase up to $400 million, with data from nearly 97,000 customers compromised.
The attackers targeted call centers run by firms such as TaskUs in Indore, leveraging the access these workers had to sensitive customer data.
Using social engineering and offers of up to $2,500 per insider, hackers secured screenshots and even installed malicious code via vulnerabilities in Chrome browser extensions.
With India hosting a large share of the world’s tech-support and customer-service operations, the story is a stark reminder that business process outsourcing (BPO) is not just an efficiency strategy but is now a frontline cybersecurity risk.
“You’re working with a low-paid labor market,” Isaac Schloss, chief product officer at Contact Center Compliance, told The Wall Street Journal, underscoring how economic vulnerabilities can become enterprise threats.
TaskUs said it halted Coinbase-related support at its Indore center after discovering employees had accepted bribes from hackers, leading to the layoff of 226 staff.
Two workers involved in earlier fraud incidents were also dismissed.
Yet, even after terminations, workers can quickly find similar jobs in the same industry, highlighting systemic gaps in deterrence and accountability.
The episode serves as a warning to Indian service providers and global clients alike: trust and security protocols must evolve beyond perimeter-based defenses.
Insider threats now require dynamic risk scoring, continuous behavior monitoring, and stronger ethical training—not just tighter tech restrictions.
As India accelerates its ambitions in AI, fintech, and digital infrastructure, its BPO sector will need to reconcile low-cost labor advantages with high-stakes cybersecurity demands.
