Criminals stole approximately $90 million in digital assets from cryptocurrency wallets last week by embedding password-reading components in USB-like devices. The attack targeted Ledger customers, with the company describing it as one of the most sophisticated attacks in crypto industry history. Organized criminals purchased genuine Ledger devices, opened them, and fitted hidden components designed to capture recovery phrases during setup before distributing them through resellers in south-east Asia.
The affected devices were sold by Crypto Bilis, a Malaysian reseller, which has paused all sales and shipments while Ledger investigates. Ledger has stepped up scrutiny of its distribution network, warning partners that devices can never be resold. Competitor Trezor has similarly reduced its reseller network to vet and check every partner, emphasizing that hardware wallets are only as safe as the path they travel to their owner.
The incident highlights the growing professionalization of crypto crime, with blockchain tracing firm Chainalysis noting crypto remains a critical element in modern criminal operations. Several self-custody platforms have been hacked recently, including $116 million stolen from Coldcard wallets in August.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing