Bithumb Says Staff Data Leaked in Breach, Still Checking Customer Data

An outsider broke into an internal mobile system Bithumb staff use for work and messaging, and personal data leaked, the exchange said Oct. 28.

Whether customer data was taken is still being checked, South Korea's Financial Services Commission said. Data on employees of Bithumb, its subsidiaries and partner firms leaked, Bithumb told the FSC at an emergency meeting on Oct. 28, according to the regulator's statement. Neither the FSC nor Bithumb has said what kinds of employee data were exposed.

What was and wasn't hit

The breached system is not a core crypto trading system, Bithumb reported to the FSC. So far, no leak of information that could be used for fraudulent payments or crypto transfers, such as wallet addresses, has been confirmed, the FSC said.

Bithumb said it spotted the access on Oct. 27 and reported it that day to the Korea Internet & Security Agency and the Personal Information Protection Commission, DigitalToday reported. "This is a system used only by employees and is separated from the exchange's network," a Bithumb official told Yonhap Infomax.

Yonhap, citing an unnamed industry source, reported that some customer information had leaked. Bithumb has not confirmed that. The number of people affected and how the intruder got in are still unknown.

Brokers and fund managers hit too

Daishin Securities said data on 38,490 customers leaked, Yonhap reported. The FSC said Mirae Asset Life and Mirae Asset Global Investments had also recently reported incidents.

The FSC, the Financial Supervisory Service and the Financial Security Institute began on-site checks. If customers suffer losses, the FSC said, it will supervise steps such as full compensation.

Bithumb has told employees and could send customers a notice if a member-data leak is confirmed, DigitalToday reported.