Ledger confirms spy chip implant behind wallet crypto thefts(bleepingcomputer.com)
725 points by thm 2 days ago | 453 comments
tl;dr: Ledger confirmed that Ledger Nano X devices sold through Malaysian reseller CryptoBilis were tampered with via a hardware implant that captures screen output and button presses to steal seed phrases, exfiltrating them over LTE using an embedded eSIM. Researchers found two implant variants—one requiring battery replacement, another more sophisticated version fitting under the OLED display—likely manufactured via professional PCB fabrication. Ledger's "Genuine Check" cannot detect these implants if the Secure Element is intact, and the company is warning users to only buy from authorized channels.
HN Discussion:
  • ↑Amazement that theoretical hardware attacks are now real and the technique is clever
  • •Additional information about scope of compromise, including other resellers like MediaMarkt
  • ↑Hardware wallets are fundamentally flawed and not a true self-custody solution
  • ↑Specialized crypto hardware is less trustworthy than general-purpose CPUs
  • ↑Mocking Ledger's marketing and design choices (no security sticker, empty space, should use epoxy)