Cyber News The Record 3 days ago

Ledger says hardware implant in cryptocurrency wallets stole recovery phrases

CN
CyberNew Threat Research Desk
• Original Reporting: The Record
CyberNew Threat Intel Assessment
Assessed Severity: INFORMATIONAL
Impacted Surface
Enterprise Perimeter & Network Defense
Intelligence Sector
Cyber News

Analyst Takeaway

"The Ledger logo on one of the company's cryptocurrency wallets. Ledger says hardware implant in cryptocurrency wallets stole recovery phrases Cryptocurrency wallet maker Ledger said Tuesday that devices sold through Southeast Asian reseller CryptoBilis contained hidden hardware implants that captured users’ recovery phrases, allowing attackers to steal their funds. In a series of social media..."

Recommended Defense & Mitigation

  • Threat Monitoring: Ingest published IOCs into SIEM/EDR detection rules for continuous telemetry monitoring.
  • Security Awareness: Alert staff and maintain baseline endpoint hardening across endpoints.
Curated & Verified by CyberNew Threat Intelligence Desk Standard Defense Framework (NIST / MITRE ATT&CK)
Ledger crypto wallet
The Ledger logo on one of the company's cryptocurrency wallets.

Ledger says hardware implant in cryptocurrency wallets stole recovery phrases

Cryptocurrency wallet maker Ledger said Tuesday that devices sold through Southeast Asian reseller CryptoBilis contained hidden hardware implants that captured users’ recovery phrases, allowing attackers to steal their funds.

In a series of social media posts, the Paris-based company said its security research team found the affected devices contained implants that read data displayed on the screens.

During setup, the implants detect users’ 24-word recovery phrase and transmit it over an LTE connection using an embedded eSIM. Unknown attackers subsequently used the phrase to access users’ funds.

Those funds were drained last week, on Oct. 9. Ledger said it has not confirmed the total losses and urged caution against speculation.

“If you bought a Ledger signer from CryptoBilis and have not set it up, do not set it up and contact Ledger Support. If you have set it up, transfer your assets promptly to a new signer with a new recovery phrase,” the company said.

Source Verification & Original Intelligence

This threat report was reviewed by CyberNew analysts and cross-referenced with primary security disclosures from The Record.

Primary Advisory →