Key Points
- Bithumb, one of South Korea’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, is examining a security incident involving unauthorized access to its internal mobile communication system.
- The platform discovered the intrusion on Tuesday and immediately notified the Korea Internet & Security Agency and Personal Information Protection Commission.
- According to the exchange, customer cryptocurrency holdings remain protected as the compromised employee system operates independently from the trading infrastructure.
- South Korea’s financial services sector has faced a surge of cyberattacks, with 16 institutions targeted through mid-October, according to regulatory authorities.
- Financial firm Daishin Securities disclosed that a separate incident resulted in the exposure of personal and credit information for 38,490 clients.
Bithumb, a prominent South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, has launched an investigation following unauthorized access to its internal mobile communication platform. The breach was first reported by Yonhap News Agency on Wednesday, which cited sources within the industry.
The compromised system serves as an internal mobile application that Bithumb employees utilize for workplace communication and information sharing.
Upon detecting the security breach Tuesday, Bithumb promptly filed reports with both the Korea Internet & Security Agency and the Personal Information Protection Commission on the same day.
Exchange Response to Security Incident
Bithumb continues to evaluate the full extent of the intrusion. A primary concern involves determining whether customer data may have been compromised during the attack.
“We are analyzing the exact scope, including the possibility of member information being involved,” a Bithumb representative told Yonhap.
The exchange indicated it would issue a formal statement Wednesday morning. Bithumb emphasized that user cryptocurrency deposits and balances were not vulnerable to the breach.
“The internal work system is separated from the virtual asset trading system, so customer virtual assets cannot be accessed through this breach,” the platform stated.
Cointelegraph has reached out to Bithumb requesting additional information.
Growing Wave of Attacks on Korean Financial Industry
This security incident at Bithumb represents just one episode in an escalating pattern of cyberattacks targeting South Korea’s financial services industry.
During a Wednesday meeting at the Financial Supervisory Service headquarters, Governor Lee Chan-jin revealed that cyberattacks had struck 16 South Korean financial institutions by October 14.
The Korea Times identified two additional recent victims: investment management firm Mirae Asset Global Investments and securities brokerage Daishin Securities.
Daishin Securities confirmed that personal and credit data belonging to 38,490 customers was compromised in its security incident.
Mirae Asset Global Investments reported detecting and blocking suspicious external attempts to access certain web-based systems. The firm stated it is conducting its own investigation into the matter.
According to Yonhap’s reporting, Mirae Asset indicated that investor data remained unaffected by the intrusion.
Bithumb’s security review remains underway as the exchange attempts to determine definitively whether any member data was extracted during the breach.
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