Crypto exchnage Bithumb alerts customers following data breach at Korea’s largest carrier

Bithumb has issued a security warning to its Korean users following a significant data leak at SK Telecom, South Korea’s largest mobile carrier.

South Korea‘s cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has alerted its customers after a data breach at SK Telecom, the country’s largest mobile carrier, raising concerns over potential risks to user accounts, prompting the exchange to strengthen security and ramp up monitoring.

In a press release on Thursday, Bithumb said that it’s monitoring for any unusual activity and has implemented additional protections to prevent unauthorized access. The exchange has also urged users to act immediately to safeguard their accounts and has heightened security protocols in light of the incident.

SK Telecom confirmed the breach, explaining that the data leak was linked to malware. The carrier futher revealed that it had detected signs of the breach on the evening of April 19, which impacted customers’ USIM-related data.

After detecting the breach, SK Telecom removed the malware and isolated the suspected hacked devices, reassuring customers that “no misuse of the leaked information has been confirmed so far.” However, to prevent further damage, SK Telecom has implemented several preventive measures, including a system investigation and strengthened attempts to block illegal SIM swaps and abnormal authentication.

Founded in 1984, SK Telecom is South Korea’s largest mobile carrier with approximately 31.5 million mobile subscriptions, accounting for about 37.5% of the nation’s total mobile subscriptions.