TLDR
- Bithumb confirmed an employee data leak following unauthorized access to its internal mobile system on October 27.
- The exchange is investigating whether hackers accessed customer information and reported no stolen crypto assets.
- Daishin Securities confirmed that hackers exposed personal and credit information belonging to 38,490 customers.
- Mirae Asset Global Investments blocked suspicious access to its web systems and reported no exposure of investor information.
- South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service launched inspections into the breaches at Bithumb and Daishin Securities.
Bithumb is investigating a data breach after an outsider accessed its internal mobile work system on October 27. The South Korean cryptocurrency exchange confirmed that employee information was exposed but has not established whether customer records were also taken.
Bithumb Reviews Internal System Breach
The affected system supports staff messages and daily office work. After discovering the intrusion, Bithumb reported the incident to the Korea Internet & Security Agency and the Personal Information Protection Commission.
The exchange said its employee system runs separately from its trading platform. It said the breach could not provide access to customer crypto holdings. No stolen digital assets have been reported so far.
Investigators have not identified the attacker publicly. Bithumb has not disclosed how many people were affected, which employee records were exposed, or whether trading services, including deposits and withdrawals, faced any disruption.
Other Financial Firms Report Attacks
Daishin Securities confirmed that hackers obtained personal and credit information belonging to 38,490 customers. The brokerage detected unauthorized access to a server linked to online account openings on October 17.
Mirae Asset Global Investments said it blocked suspicious access to some web systems. The company reported no exposure of investor information or personal credit records.
The South Korean cases involve different companies and systems. Authorities have not reported evidence that the attacks share a common source. Separately, a Keystone customer data breach exposed shipping and contact details.
Financial Regulator Begins Inspections
South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service sent inspection teams to Bithumb and Daishin Securities. Officials are reviewing the incidents and may expand their examinations if they find legal violations.
Governor Lee Chan-jin urged financial firms to strengthen computer security during an October 28 meeting with banking executives. He warned that attackers could use artificial intelligence to find weaknesses.
Exchange security has also drawn attention overseas. India’s CoinDCX recently reported a $16 million loss linked to an older wallet system, while saying customer balances remained safe.
Bithumb faced a separate control failure in February, when it mistakenly credited users with 620,000 Bitcoin instead of a planned cash reward. The company recovered most of the mistaken credits.
Other exchange attacks remain under investigation. Blockchain researchers recently tracked $19 million in transfers from wallets linked to an earlier Bitget breach. Bithumb has not provided a date for completing its review. Its findings will determine whether customer information was included in the exposed employee system.
