Bithumb’s comms got hacked, but customer crypto reportedly stayed locked in its vault 🔐

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb is investigating the extent of a data leak after its in-house mobile system, used for internal employee communications, was hacked earlier this week, Yonhap News Agency reported Wednesday. Bithumb discovered the breach on Tuesday and notified the Korea Internet & Security Agency and the Personal Information Protection Commission that day, according to Yonhap, which cited industry sources.

The exchange is examining whether member data was exposed. Bithumb told Yonhap, “We are analyzing the exact scope, including the possibility of member information being involved,” and “We will provide an official announcement this morning. However, the internal work system is separated from the virtual asset trading system, so customer virtual assets cannot be accessed through this breach.”

The incident lands amid a broader run of cyberattacks against South Korea’s financial sector. During a meeting at the Financial Supervisory Authority headquarters on Wednesday, Governor Lee Chan-jin said cyberattacks had hit 16 South Korean financial firms as of Oct. 14.

The Korea Times reported that asset manager Mirae Asset Global Investments and Daishin Securities were also recent victims. Daishin Securities said personal and credit information belonging to 38,490 customers had been leaked. Mirae Asset Global Investments said it had blocked abnormal external access to some web systems and was investigating the incident, adding that investor information was not affected, according to Yonhap.

Cointelegraph reached out to Bithumb for further comment. The disclosure also comes as Bithumb sets a 2028 IPO timetable while overhauling internal controls.