Ledger confirms spy chip implant behind wallet crypto thefts

Ledger has confirmed that some of its devices distributed through Southeast Asian reseller CryptoBilis were compromised with a hardware implant that drained users' cryptocurrency wallets.

The company has been investigating reports of users losing funds from wallets purchased through CryptoBilis, a major Malaysia-based hardware wallet retailer operating across Southeast Asia.

Some researchers have shown the implant in Ledger X since September 16, saying tampered devices were available for nearly half the price of the original hardware.

Ledger wallets are physical devices designed to securely store the private keys that control cryptocurrency assets and authorize transactions.

On October 9, Ledger said it had launched an investigation into user reports of cryptocurrency losses and asked CryptoBilis to stop selling and shipping Ledger devices.

The next day, the company confirmed hardware tampering on at least one device, though it’s still unclear exactly how or when the devices were tampered with.

"Ledger can confirm that one of the impacted users’ devices contained an unauthorized hardware implant. Ledger is reaching out to impacted users as part of the ongoing investigation," Ledger said.