Spy Module Confirmed in Ledger Flex Purchased at Singapore Airport

On October 13, former Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpelès confirmed that a Ledger Flex purchased at Singapore Airport's Metapod had been implanted with a spy module. The device was acquired by user Ben Yorke this summer, remained unused, and was sent for disassembly after suspicious scratches appeared on its casing. Photos and videos of the disassembly released by Karpelès show that an additional circuit board and wiring were hidden at the bottom of the device, belonging to a newer version of the implant, capable of stealing the seed phrase when users set their mnemonic phrases by intercepting screen communications. Previously, Ledger devices distributed through Malaysian dealer CryptoBilis were also implanted, resulting in over $86 million in assets being stolen. This airport channel case indicates that the issue is not isolated. The community has discovered similar implantation traces in devices purchased from official European dealers and in the Philippines, with related implants evolving from early manual soldering to more discreet mass-produced circuit boards.

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