Ledger has asked sellers and distributors in six Southeast Asian countries and Hong Kong to suspend sales and remove its hardware wallets from store shelves while it investigates reports of tampered devices.

Hardware wallets are designed to keep the private keys that control crypto holdings offline, which is why signs of tampering before a device reaches a buyer raise immediate security concerns.

In a post on X on Tuesday, Ledger said the request covers resellers in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

“To be clear, as the investigation continues, the only confirmed incidents remain contained to Southeast Asia. We have not verified a drain linked to a device bought elsewhere,” Ledger said.

“The investigation is ongoing to determine who tampered with these devices and where in the distribution chain it happened,” the company added.

The broader sales suspension request follows Ledger’s earlier request for reseller CryptoBilis to stop sales and shipments. The investigation became public on Oct. 9 after reports of stolen crypto linked to devices purchased through the reseller. The episode also highlights how third-party retail channels sit outside a manufacturer’s direct fulfillment, placing distribution-chain integrity at the center of hardware wallet security.

Since then, users in other regions, including Europe, have reported finding suspected tampering in devices bought from retailers.

“We have no indication that Ledger’s infrastructure, systems or services or direct sales channel have been compromised,” company said.

With the probe still running, the open questions are where in the supply chain the tampering occurred, who carried it out, and whether any incidents beyond Southeast Asia are ultimately verified.

Source: CryptoNewsNet