The Sphere 3D cryptominer has archived A lawsuit against its partner Gryphon Digital Mining after an alleged phishing attack led to the irregular transfer of Bitcoin (BTC), according to court documents on April 7.
“Today we are filing litigation against Gryphon, the custody management service provider for our blockchain and cryptocurrency related services, for material breaches of the Master Services Agreement (“MSA”) that we entered into with Gryphon.” saying Patricia Trompeter, CEO of Sphere 3D, in a statement to investors, adding that “Gryphon has placed the company’s assets at significant risk and has knowingly violated its contractual obligations.”
According to the complaint, Gryphon CEO Rob Chang allegedly sent a BTC cable on Jan. 18 to a scammer posing as Sphere 3D’s CFO via a phishing attack. Another eight Bitcoin were sent to the same address a few days later.
In a phishing attack, an attacker attempts to trick a system or user into thinking they are someone else by falsifying data such as IP addresses, email headers, or user credentials to gain access to a system, steal sensitive information or initiate further attacks.
In comments to Cointelegraph, Gryphon’s Chang said the company is “aware of the complaint and looks forward to vigorously defending it.” He also noted:
“While we cannot comment on pending litigation, we are confident that our forthcoming response to the complaint, and the documents and other evidence that will come to light afterward, will speak for themselves.”
Sphere 3D and Gryphon have been partners since August 2021. Gryphon is in charge of managing Sphere 3D’s “crypto mining activities” and maintaining “fiduciary duties of Sphere’s digital assets,” the statement said. As payment for this work, Gryphon receives 22.5% of Sphere’s gross profit.
Sphere’s statement also suggests that the relationship between the companies that once considered a merger has deteriorated. Trumpeter noted that the presentation demonstrates that “we will not be intimidated or threatened by people like Gryphon.” The executive stated:
“Gryphon did not act with integrity, they did not fulfill our contract and we will hold them accountable.”
Cointelegraph reached out to Sphere 3D, but did not receive an immediate response. Both companies claim to be committed to growing net carbon neutral crypto mining operations. A merger agreement between the two companies was terminated in April 2022.
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