“Backdoor would mean that we control all ledger devices and could run automated updates for example… That’s not the case. Will never be the case. Only you can use functions on your ledger. No one else can enter your pin code and press those buttons…”^[1]

Given that the Recovery feature doesn't make sense in cases where a user has set up a passphrase since a seed phrase alone is insufficient to get access to coins, it would make sense for Ledger developers to include a passphrase into this encrypted transfer scheme, especially considering the fact that it is equally important for a successful recovery and already sitting in a device's memory.

Hardware wallets, like mixers, are in what I like to call "the trust business". They should never lie, because if they lie once about something you can verify, you should assume they also lie about things you can't verify.
So basically, this should be the end of Ledger.

If it's an inside job at one of the three companies, they only need a shard from one other company. That's a very low bar to clear.

Potential scammers can apply at ledger.com/jobs

Yes, I mean the same key is on their device, but the distinction is irrelevant. If someone gains access to 2 of your shares, then it is trivial for them to access the decryption key even if they don't actually know what it is (by simply using any Ledger device).

As I said, the vulnerability is unfixable. It still exists and will always exist on these devices. Coldcard is certainly airgapped, but it is not open source as Pmalek points out and the company behind it spread lies about competitors for their own gain. I personally wouldn't use it.

If I had to buy a hardware wallet right now, I would buy a Passport. But I'd much rather continue to use a separate airgapped, encrypted device, running a FOSS OS and wallet.

Here's a post from the CEO of Passport about this: https://www.zherbert.com/an-open-letter-to-nvk-and-coldcard/

There was a clash between the two some time ago. Zach (Foundation CEO and Co-founder) even made a post in his own blog about it[1]. It mostly started when Matt Odell (seen as an influencer within the crypto community I assume) posted a tweet[2] claiming that all what Foundation did was to clone NVK source code into their product. Besides Matt, even the co-founder and CEO of CoinKite (@nvk[3]) - the producers of Coldcard - was spreading that same information on their Discord channel - that not only did Foundation copied their code but that they were also closed source (you can read more about it on Zack open letter).

I don't know how the situation ended between the two, but I wouldn't be surprised if Foundation (and Zach team) ended up a bit frustrated against this "attack" by nvk and would keep communication on strictly what was needed. You can feel that on Zach closing remarks on his letter:

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[1]https://www.zherbert.com/an-open-letter-to-nvk-and-coldcard/
[2]https://nitter.it/ODELL/status/1651220101721358336
[3]https://nitter.it/nvk