Common Sense Returns for Coinbase Global
September 5, 2025
No AI. Just a dinobaby working the old-fashioned way.
Just a quick dino tail slap for Coinbase. I read “Coinbase Reverses Remote Policy over North Korean Hacker Threats.” The write up says:
Coinbase has reversed its remote-first policy due to North Korean hackers exploiting fake remote job applications for infiltration. The company now mandates in-person orientations and U.S. citizenship for sensitive roles. This shift highlights the crypto industry’s need to balance flexible work with robust cybersecurity.
I strongly disagree with the cyber security angle. I think it is a return (hopefully) to common sense, not the mindless pursuit of cheap technical work and lousy management methods. Sure, cyber security is at risk when an organization hires people to do work from a far off land. The easy access to voice and image synthesis tools means that some outfits are hiring people who aren’t the people the really busy, super professional human resources person thinks was hired.
The write up points out:
North Korean hackers have stolen an estimated $1.6 billion from cryptocurrency platforms in 2025 alone, as detailed in a recent analysis by Ainvest. Their methods have evolved from direct cyberattacks to more insidious social engineering, including fake job applications enhanced by deepfakes and AI-generated profiles. Coinbase’s CEO, Brian Armstrong, highlighted these concerns during an appearance on the Cheeky Pint podcast, as covered by The Verge, emphasizing how remote-first policies inadvertently create vulnerabilities.
Close but the North Korean angle is akin to Microsoft saying, “1,000 Russian hackers did this.” Baloney. My view is that the organized hacking operations blend smoothly with the North Korean government’s desire for free cash and the large Chinese criminal organizations operating money laundering operations from that garden spot, the Golden Triangle.
Stealing crypto is one thing. Coordinating attacks on organizations to exfiltrate high value information is a second thing. A third thing is to perform actions that meet the needs and business methods of large-scale money laundering, phishing, and financial scamming operations.
Looking at these events from the point of view of a single company, it is easy to see that cost reduction and low cost technical expertise motivated some managers, maybe those at Coinbase. But now that more information is penetrating the MBA fog that envelopes many organizations, common sense may become more popular. Management gurus and blue chip consulting firms are not proponents of common sense in my experience. Coinbase may have seen the light.
Stephen E Arnold, September 5, 2025
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