Ledger dompet dingin meledak! Mitra kerjasama bocorkan data pengguna, mengulangi sejarah tahun 2020

Ledger cold wallet third-party payment provider Global-e hacked, user personal data leaked. ZachXBT disclosed, Ledger confirmed but emphasized fund and private key security. 2020 data breach of 270,000 users sparked phishing attacks and lawsuits. Security experts warn users to be alert to suspicious messages requesting seed phrases or authorization in recent period.

Who is Global-e? Why it became a security breach

(Source: Global-e)

Blockchain detective ZachXBT disclosed on January 5 that Ledger’s third-party payment processing partner Global-e experienced a data breach, resulting in unauthorized access to personal information of some users. Ledger has long been a leader in the hardware wallet space, allowing users to store cryptocurrency private keys offline through Ledger, positioned as a safer asset custody solution than hot wallets or centralized exchanges. Therefore, it has a large user base of retail and institutional users globally, and any security concerns receive close attention from the crypto community.

In response to external concerns, Ledger officials subsequently confirmed to media that they received notification from partner Global-e indicating that order data in its system was illegally accessed. Global-e is the Merchant of Record responsible for processing cross-border transactions on Ledger’s official website, and its cloud database contains information of some customers who purchased products on the Ledger official website.

Ledger spokespersons emphasized that this security incident only involved external e-commerce partner information systems, and Ledger’s own platform, hardware, or software systems were not compromised and remain secure. Since Ledger products adopt a self-custodial design, Global-e absolutely cannot access users’ most important 24 seed phrases, blockchain balances, or any information related to digital assets, and this incident also did not involve any credit card information leaks.

This statement is technically correct but overlooks greater risks. Although leaked names, emails, and phone numbers cannot directly steal coins, they provide a perfect target list for targeted fraud. Scammers knowing these people hold Ledger cold wallets means they own a certain scale of crypto assets, making them high-value attack targets.

Three Weak Links in Supply Chain Security

Third-party payment providers: Partners like Global-e handling cross-border transactions possess order data and become hacker targets

Logistics and delivery companies: Leaked delivery addresses may lead to physical robbery; in 2020 users were threatened because of this

Customer service systems: Outsourced customer service if managed improperly could be breached through social engineering to obtain user information

Painful lessons from 270,000 user data leak in 2020

Ledger’s incident of user information leakage through partners refocused external attention on Ledger’s previous controversial history. Looking back at 2020, Ledger experienced a serious data breach when hackers successfully infiltrated marketing and e-commerce databases related to the company, exposing personal information of over 270,000 users publicly on hacker forum RaidForums.

The leaked content at that time was quite detailed, including user names, email addresses, phone numbers, and even residential addresses of some users were exposed, triggering massive user concern and dissatisfaction. Many victims subsequently suffered large-scale phishing email attacks and harassment. Although Ledger issued a Bitcoin bounty at the time seeking information about attackers, it subsequently faced class action lawsuits, with plaintiffs accusing Ledger and e-commerce partner Shopify at the time of failing to provide sufficient personal data protection measures, leaving users at risk.

After the 2020 breach, large numbers of users received phishing emails impersonating Ledger officials, claiming to need “firmware updates” or “account verification,” deceiving users into entering their 24-word seed phrases. Some users consequently lost tens of thousands or even millions of dollars in crypto assets. In more extreme cases, some users whose addresses were leaked faced physical threats and were forced to hand over cold wallets.

While it is unclear whether this Ledger Global-e incident will reach the scale of 2020, it will undoubtedly reignite market scrutiny of how cryptocurrency companies and their third-party service providers handle user personal information. For hardware wallet companies that view security as core competitive advantage, any data breach could impact user confidence.

Practical defense against targeted phishing fraud

Security experts remind that although user Ledger wallet funds themselves remain secure, the leaked names and contact information are very likely to be used for targeted social engineering fraud. Users should remain highly alert to suspicious messages requesting seed phrases or authorization in the recent period. Supply chain security becomes a concern; Ledger users should be vigilant about phishing.

Targeted phishing is characterized by extreme personalization. Scammers use your real name, purchase records, and contact information to impersonate Ledger official customer service, claiming your wallet has security issues requiring “urgent handling.” This highly customized fraud message is far more deceptive than mass spam emails.

Ledger officials will never proactively request users to provide seed phrases or private keys. Any email, text message, or phone call claiming to be from Ledger that involves requesting sensitive information is 100% fraud. The correct approach is to directly close suspicious messages, log into the Ledger website to verify, or contact official customer service channels proactively.

For users confirmed to have had personal information leaked, it is recommended to immediately change passwords related to Ledger accounts, enable two-factor authentication, and maintain skepticism toward all communications claiming to be from Ledger in the coming months. If you receive suspicious messages, you can screenshot and report to Ledger officials or blockchain detective ZachXBT.