A significant supply chain breach has compromised Ledger hardware wallets across Southeast Asia, resulting in over $103.4 million stolen from 530 addresses through tampered devices inserted into the reseller network. In an unusual turn, one of the affected parties was itself operating a cryptocurrency scam.
According to blockchain monitoring firm Chainalysis, a scammer lost 60 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $4.8 million, after purchasing three Ledger devices that had been embedded with spyware designed to record seed phrases. The attackers subsequently drained all funds from the three compromised wallets into a single address.
The scammer had operated a "task scam" scheme in which individuals were recruited to fake sales and reviews of legitimate items. Participants were reportedly told a negative balance had appeared and instructed to deposit their own money to receive promised payments. Chainalysis noted the possibility that this scammer had themselves become a victim of fraud.
Ledger has suspended its reseller network across Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Hong Kong. The company maintains that all confirmed thefts to date have originated from Asia, despite reports of tampered devices appearing in Europe where electronics retailer MediaMarkt halted sales.
Trezor, a competing hardware wallet provider, announced it would shutter certain resellers in its network beginning January 1, citing inability to maintain equivalent vigilance standards for distant resellers. No reports of tampered Trezor devices have surfaced.
Ledger simultaneously launched its Atom device, priced at $849, which combines cryptocurrency wallet functionality with segregated Android applications. The company states the device includes protections against the spyware used in the Asian thefts and can detect tampering even when powered off.
