Bithumb hacked through employee system as South Korean financial firms face cyberattacks
South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb confirmed a breach of its internal employee mobile system, with personal information stolen but no cryptocurrency funds lost.
Bithumb, South Korea's second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, confirmed that an outsider breached its internal employee mobile system, stealing personal information. The exchange emphasized that no cryptocurrency funds were reported lost as of Asian afternoon hours on Wednesday.
The compromised system, used by employees for work and messaging, runs separately from Bithumb's trading platform, meaning customer virtual assets cannot be accessed through this breach. The exchange has not disclosed how many people were affected or whether deposits and withdrawals were disrupted.
Widespread attacks
The breach comes amid increasing cyberattacks on South Korean financial firms. Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Chan-jin reported that 16 financial firms had been attacked as of October 14, and on Wednesday, the FSS was assessing three financial firms including Bithumb.
I understand that major financial investment companies experienced overall hacking incidents yesterday.
Previous incident
This marks the second significant security issue for Bithumb this year. In February, the exchange mistakenly credited customers with 620,000 BTC worth over $40 billion instead of 620,000 won. CEO Lee Jae-won blamed weak internal controls at the time.
Bithumb discovered the intrusion on Tuesday and reported it to the Korea Internet & Security Agency and the Personal Information Protection Commission. The exchange is still analyzing the exact scope of the breach, including whether member information was compromised.
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