Ledger halts wallet sales in Southeast Asia over spyware concerns

Ledger requested resellers and distributors in six Southeast Asian countries and Hong Kong to suspend sales and remove its hardware wallets from store shelves on Tuesday. Cointelegraph reported that the hardware wallet manufacturer issued the request while investigators work to establish where device tampering occurred. According to Bankless, authorized resellers distributed hardware wallets with hidden spyware designed to extract user recovery phrases, resulting in suspected thefts exceeding 86 million dollars. [1][2]

Cointelegraph reported that the sales suspension covers authorized resellers in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Hong Kong. Bankless reported that spyware implants appeared in devices across Asia and Europe, raising supply chain concerns. However, Cointelegraph noted that Ledger stated on social media platform X that confirmed incidents remain contained to Southeast Asia. [1][2]

Initial thefts surfaced on October 9 involving devices sold by CryptoBilis, an authorized reseller operating in Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, according to Bankless. As FTMQ Crypto reported earlier, Ledger previously tied all confirmed fund-draining incidents to CryptoBilis, which subsequently halted its device sales. Ledger previously stated that its internal systems and direct sales channels were unaffected by the incident. [2][11]

The investigation remains ongoing as Ledger attempts to locate the source of the supply chain compromise. Ledger requested that resellers keep devices off shelves until investigators determine where the physical tampering took place. [1]