The French company Ledger stated on October 11 that so far, only cases related to the theft of crypto assets on October 9 have been confirmed to involve equipment purchased from the authorized distributor in Southeast Asia, CryptoBilis.
Ledger indicates that 'the number of affected devices is limited', but the specific number of wallets that have been compromised has not been disclosed.
The company also emphasized that this incident did not affect its systems or direct sales.
At the same time, Ledger is working with relevant departments to determine how these theft incidents occurred. The company is also in contact with the affected customers.
At the time of this latest statement, reports from the outside world indicated that there had already been significant losses of cryptocurrencies. Blockchain investigators estimate that the potential losses could exceed $86 million, but this figure has not yet been confirmed.
Unauthorized hardware implantation detected.
This is the latest development in a series of concerning new findings surrounding this ongoing investigation.
As previously reported, Ledger indicated that it discovered unauthorized hardware implants on the devices of affected customers. This has raised concerns that some wallets may have been tampered with before being delivered to the customers.
However, investigators are still determining whether the same modifications are responsible for all the reported theft incidents.
After the incident, CryptoBilis announced that the sale of all hardware wallets would be suspended until further notice.
At the same time, Ledger has also strengthened the security of its supply chain, including its authorized dealer system, and improved the hardware's resistance to physical tampering.
The company also reminds distributors to purchase products only from authorized channels and not to resell returned equipment.
Ledger also acknowledges that this issue is not limited to them. The company urges other hardware wallet providers and security researchers to strengthen industry security in order to defend against tampering attacks.
