Bithumb hack leaks staff data and regulators launch raid

South Korea's financial regulators began on-site inspections after Bithumb reported signs that abnormal external access had exposed employee information, while the crypto exchange was still checking whether customer data had been leaked.

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) said in an Oct. 28 notice that the information involved employees of Bithumb, its subsidiaries and partner companies. Bithumb told an emergency meeting that the affected system supports employees' work and is not part of the core computing facilities used for crypto trading.

According to the FSC, Bithumb had not confirmed a leak of information usable for fraudulent payments or crypto transfers, including wallet addresses. That finding leaves the broader assessment of possible customer-data exposure unfinished.

The immediate response brings the FSC, the Financial Supervisory Service and the Financial Security Institute into an on-site investigation. The FSC said the agencies were sharing information and cooperating closely to identify the incident's cause.

The emergency meeting was chaired by Yoo Young-joon, the FSC's digital finance policy head, according to the notice. Bithumb and DAXA joined the supervisory and security bodies, presenting the exchange's report to the institutions coordinating the response.

An Oct. 28 post by the FSC also described the emergency meeting and the start of on-site inspections. The FSC's own notice sets out the agencies' actions and Bithumb's account of the affected staff-support system.

The regulator's response includes a conditional compensation plan. If consumers suffer damage, the FSC said it plans to oversee protection measures including full compensation.

The staff-system disclosure and the continuing customer-data check leave the investigation with different questions to resolve. Bithumb identified the affected system in its report, while the regulators' on-site work aims to establish the cause.