People Are Being Robbed of Crypto Through a Tiny Chip Installed in Their Hardware; $100 Million Reportedly Stolen So Far.

Investigation Into the "Ninth Mehr Evacuation Incident" Continues.

The investigation about the "9th Mehr evacuation incident" continues.

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October 12, 2026: User reports begin to emerge claiming that compromised Ledger wallets may not be limited to Southeast Asia, but may also exist in Europe. There are also claims that other Ledger wallets besides the Nano X may also be affected. There is still no word from Ledger on these claims.

I never got into cryptography, but when I was considering doing so, I was quickly convinced that I should use a hardware wallet to store my private keys, as there is usually less risk of them being hacked and stolen than storing everything online. But unfortunately, one of the most trusted hardware wallets on the market seems to have fallen victim to a supply chain attack (via a vendor) that has deprived some users of a collective sum of at least $86 million and, according to YFarmX's calculations, potentially over $100 million.

Ledger, the maker of the hardware wallet in question, has since said that as part of its investigation into the stolen crypto reports, it could confirm that "one of the affected users' devices contained an unauthorized hardware implant."

The company also says: "To date, all confirmed cases related to the leak incident disclosed on October 9, 2026 involve devices sold through Southeast Asian vendor CryptoBilis.

Ledger says CryptoBillis confirms it has halted all sales of the wallet pending the conclusion of the ongoing investigation. The company also says it is "working with the appropriate authorities to bring bad actors to justice."

Judging from a teardown of an affected device shared on Reddit, it appears the battery was removed to fit into an "unauthorized hardware implant." The implant, at least according to some reports, was behind the screen where the pad should have been. Importantly, the implant appears to be soldered and captures information from the display, thereby preventing detection of the usual hardware tampering with the device.

The company shows disassembly images for its hardware wallets so you can take them apart and see how everything should be. But these implants are apparently easy to miss unless you're even careful about disassembly, and Ledger notes that its integrity checks "can't detect unauthorized physical changes to the hardware — such as spy implants — if the original Secure Element remains intact."

So, what is the safe way to look after your crypto? The community itself doesn't seem to be entirely secure, aside from keeping your keys completely separate from the technology, like "paper" (preferably something stronger and more durable, of course).

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In this particular case, I imagine buying directly from Ledger might reduce the risk as well, although CryptoBillis was an official seller. With supply chain risks on the rise, anything to reduce that attack vector is a good idea.

The Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) announced earlier this year that "software supply chain failures" are a major threat to web application security, and we've seen supply chains targeted in other industries such as home routers. It seems like ordering from as close to a source as you can get is highly recommended these days. I'd say this goes double when you're dealing with storing large amounts of money, crypto or otherwise.

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Jacob put his hands on a gaming computer for the first time when he was about 12 years old. He quickly realized that the local computer repair shop had ripped him off with his build and vowed to never let another soul build his rig again. With this vow, Yaqub the hardware addict was born. Since then, Jacobs has led a double life as a hardware expert and philosopher, first working as a hardware writer for PCGamesN in 2020, then working toward a Ph.D. in philosophy for a few years while working alongside sites like TechRadar, Pocket-lint, and yours truly PC Gamer. Eventually, he gave up the brutal mercenary life and joined the world's #1 PC gaming site full-time. He assures us that it is definitely not a carnal thing.

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