Ledger wallet tampering suspected after reports of crypto thefts

Ledger crypto wallet users have reported their accounts being drained, with suspicion falling on reseller CryptoBillis and a piece of spy hardware. Ledger has asked CryptoBillis to pause all sales of its wallets while it investigates. According to The Verge, photos and videos show a small circuit board sandwiched under the screen of the wallet, which allegedly intercepts and sends sensitive information to an attacker.

The incident has not appeared to affect crypto markets, with Bitcoin recovering from a drop on Thursday. Cointelegraph reports that Bitcoin hovered around the $82,500 support level on Friday, with buyer interest emerging after it dropped to $80,350. Crypto liquidations exceeded $1 billion, but the market seemed to brush off the reports of Ledger wallet users having funds stolen.

Ledger has acknowledged the claims of stolen funds and is investigating. The company asked CryptoBillis to pause sales while it looks into the matter. According to The Verge, the suspected spy hardware is said to intercept the seed passphrase displayed during the initial setup of the wallet and send it to an attacker, allowing them to siphon funds from the user's account.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Verge, Cointelegraph — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.