Ledger roasted over $849 device launch after $86M hack

Ledger has been accused of failing to “read the room” after the company unveiled its new $849 Atom wallet device just days after falling victim to an $86 million draining hack which led to it suspending multiple resellers.

Users on X have called Ledger’s Atom announcement the “worst timing ever,” with others suggesting that the announcement should have been delayed. 

Read more: Ledger asks more Southeast Asia resellers to halt wallet sales

The Atom, which Ledger says is “not designed to replace your phone,” is a security-focused Android device that looks like a phone but without the ability to make calls and send texts. 

According to The Verge, it will use an eSIM that will be restricted to data capabilities only. Users can still download apps, so in practice, data can still be used for internet-based messages and calls. 

The relatively small size of previous Ledger wallets meant users could at least keep them in a pocket without much trouble. However, it remains to be seen whether they’ll be willing to carry around what is essentially a second phone.

It runs on Android OS and Ledger-OS, its own system that can handle “transactions, logins, and sensitive data.” The device will also come with a so-called “privacy switch” that claims to cut “the camera and mic at the circuit level.”

Ledger says hack was work of ‘organized criminal group’

Last week, Ledger users suffered a more-than-$86 million draining attack that used spyware implanted in devices sold by official Malaysian reseller CryptoBilis.

Ledger revealed today that a “highly organized criminal group” spent “millions” installing spyware onto its wallets.  

It claims the attackers “built their own logistics and technology infrastructure with seeds collector servers, draining and laundering infrastructures.”

Ledger expanded suspension of official reseller wallet sales

Ledger also announced this week that it was asking 23 official resellers across South Asia to suspend sales following the discovery of tampered devices. 

It also revealed yesterday that it couldn’t find “any sign of tampering” with devices from its official German reseller MediaMrkt, and that “no loss of funds related to implants has been reported anywhere in Europe.”

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