Ledger sued for $500M over its many data breaches

Crypto wallet maker Ledger neglected customer safety after it failed to prevent and subsequently adapt to a string of data breaches, according to a $500 million class action lawsuit.

The August 27 lawsuit was filed by Douglas Kim, a Ledger user who claims to have lost almost $2 million to thieves who used data stolen from the company in 2020 and 2023, to target his crypto. 

According to the lawsuit, around the time of these attacks, Ledger demonstrated “a disturbing pattern of negligent, reckless, and irresponsible behavior with regard to its security posture and a callous disregard for its obligations to the privacy of its customers’ [personally identifiable information].”

Ledger keeps getting breached

In the 2020 breach, the personal data of almost 300,000 Ledger users was leaked and uploaded to an online marketplace for stolen data. 

Meanwhile, the 2023 phishing attack targeting one of Ledger’s employees resulted in the dissemination of malware capable of redirecting crypto stored in Ledger wallets to the attackers.

Unmentioned in the lawsuit, however, is the 2026 data breach that saw Ledger users’ personal data leaked when payments processor, Global-e, was hacked. 

Read more: Ledger dubs service ‘risk-free’ despite losing millions of user emails

In relation to the 2020 and 2023 cases, the lawsuit alleges Ledger downplayed the breaches, failed to make its customers aware of the incidents in time, and won’t “rectify and bolster its inadequate security measures to prevent data breaches.”

It claims criminals used this leaked data to target users and steal their crypto, “resulting in substantial financial losses that would have been prevented, or that class members would have been able to guard against, had Ledger taken responsible and complete steps to notify its customers.”

The lawsuit also claims Ledger controvened New York’s Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security Act and was negligent in its actions.

It seeks between $500 million and up to billions of dollars in damages, and demands a trial by jury. 

Ledger told Protos that it doesn’t comment on legal matters.

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