South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb reportedly confirmed on Oct. 28 that an unauthorized outsider got into its in-house mobile groupware, the app staff use for work and internal messaging, and that personal information leaked from it.
The exchange detected the access on Oct. 27 and reportedly notified the Korea Internet & Security Agency and the Personal Information Protection Commission that day. A Bithumb spokesperson told Korean outlets that the data identified so far belongs to employees, and iNews24 reported it included names, email addresses and phone numbers. Bithumb reportedly said it has not ruled out that customer data was also involved and is still working out the exact scope. It has not said how many people were affected or how the intruder got in.
No crypto funds have been reported lost. Bithumb reportedly told Dealsite that the groupware runs on a network physically separated from the systems that handle trading and customer assets.
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Two More Firms Disclose Breaches
Bithumb’s disclosure came the same day as two others. Daishin Securities said personal information of 38,490 customers, including names, email addresses and mobile numbers, leaked after it spotted unauthorized access last week, Yonhap reported. The brokerage said it had notified those customers and would compensate any damage as the law requires.
Asset manager Mirae Asset Global Investments reportedly shut off intrusions from an outside IP address into parts of its web platform, and said no sensitive or credit data had leaked. Financial authorities have begun inspecting that case.
The presidential office’s National Security Office called an emergency response meeting with the Financial Services Commission on Oct. 28 over the Bithumb and Mirae Asset incidents, Seoul Economic Daily reported. Earlier in October, the FSC said hacking attacks had hit 16 financial firms, banks among them, producing about 100,000 cases of leaked data.
February Payout Error and March Fine
In February, Bithumb credited users with 620,000 BTC during a promotional “random box” event after an employee entered the reward in bitcoin rather than won. Winners due 2,000 won each received 2,000 BTC instead. The exchange halted deposits and withdrawals about 35 minutes after the error.
A month later, South Korean regulators fined Bithumb about $24.6 million over anti-money-laundering failures and imposed a six-month partial suspension that applies to new users.
Related Listen: How Did Hackers Take $388M From Bitget Without a User Withdrawal?
