Bithumb Probes Data Leak After Internal Hack

TLDR

• South Korean exchange Bithumb is investigating a data leak after its in-house mobile work system was hacked.
• The exchange discovered the breach on Tuesday and notified the Korea Internet & Security Agency and the Personal Information Protection Commission the same day.
• Bithumb says the internal system is separate from its trading platform, so customer assets cannot be accessed through this breach.
• The attack is part of a wider wave hitting Korea’s financial sector, with 16 firms targeted as of Oct. 14.

There are some concerning reports coming out from South Korea. Bithumb is looking into the extent of a data leak that followed a hack of its internal mobile system earlier this week, according to Yonhap News Agency.

This is the platform employees use to communicate and share information at work. Bithumb found the breach on Tuesday and informed both the Korea Internet & Security Agency and the Personal Information Protection Commission on the same day.

What hasn’t been confirmed yet is whether customer information was actually exposed. Bithumb told Yonhap that it is analyzing the exact scope, including the possibility that member data was involved, and promised an official announcement on Wednesday morning.

The exchange also tried to calm down its users. It stressed that the internal work system is separated from the virtual asset trading system. In its words, that means customer crypto holdings cannot be reached through this breach. This distinction is important, but users still want to see the full findings before drawing firm conclusions.

Bithumb is far from alone. This incident adds to a growing run of cyberattacks across the country’s financial industry. Financial Supervisory Authority Governor Lee Chan-jin said at a Wednesday meeting that 16 South Korean financial firms had been hit as of Oct. 14.

Other recent victims include Daishin Securities and Mirae Asset Global Investments, according to The Korea Times. Daishin said personal and credit information belonging to 38,490 customers had leaked. Mirae Asset said it blocked abnormal external access to some web systems and is investigating, adding that investor information was not affected.

However, these patterns of attacks are starting to worry the entire industry. When attackers hit the human side of the company, such its communication tools, the trust is what takes the hit.

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