Yeah, I posted his X post earlier in this thread. If the guy is telling the truth and he indeed purchased two devices at two different locations, and both of them were infected, then it's reasonable to assume that all devices have been tampered with.
Luckily, Mediamarkt (who also owns Saturn) today decided to pull out all Ledger wallets from their stores:
https://cointelegraph.com/news/mediamarkt-pulls-ledger-wallet-security-incident

There are some other big retailers who also offer Ledger wallets, like UK's Currys, I hope they too are at least aware of the issue. The story is making rounds in the crypto world, but I'm not sure if there's enough coverage in the mainstream media to make everyone aware.

Don't get me wrong, I fully agree with you. I was merely thinking that there is no way that this can be fully prevented at all, at least not that I know of from a hardware perspective. They can only make it harder by including different things, from the hardware validation which seem to have failed in this case, to the stickers that were mentioned, to some supply chain validation and that. The more things are added the better, and I don't think these things add that much cost on a scale. Definitely those stickers are pretty cheap, so that part of the weak protection can be blamed on Ledger.


I would not expect a company of this scale to use basic anti-tampering stickers if they were going to add them, but they should do something more after this case.

It is not enough but every step helps.

These seals shouldn't be the main way for detecting tampering (seals are more present in Trezor devices), they also confuse some users, as devices sometimes arrive with misaligned or inconsistent seals, I’ve seen many people requesting replacements. Additional security checks that are relatively simpler than opening the device should be considered, the only other real options are downloading a software wallet and using it on an airgapped PC.

I own both a Ledger nano X and a Trezor Model T, I’ll keep using them but will reduce the amounts held on them. I won't open the devices myself, as I lack the technical skills to do so.

What about anti tampering lockers that can be opened if users scanned it with specialized app to activate and this can be one time thing otherwise if opened with force it breaks? i bet many of us wouldn't mind paying some more to get devices that come with this kind of advanced anti tampering measure, is this kind of thing even exist? for cheaper solution they could make the case transparent and publish official image of what it should look like.

A diagram of the Ledger production chain has emerged. I think they'll now be checking processes from the manufacturing stage onward and further down the supply chain to determine the point at which the spy chip was implanted.


https://x.com/ParadigmaEdu/status/2110115952524431487

These are some good suggestions, but all have loopholes. I still shared them even though I knew they were not so unique or helpful, and it's not like I am the only one with such ideas. But it's also true that all of these suggestions could be ignored by the wallet makers because they now have to think outside the box if they really want to promote themselves.

Unlike Coldcard, Ledger's days are also numbered. I can see them going down. If this hack had happened in the EU or the US, the consequences for Ledger would have been a lot bigger than they are now.

Unassembled parts could also be tampered with. That's why I don't think it's a good idea, but I am not an expert on this. Maybe they can find a better way, but I know that when you receive the parts, they can just swap the chip with their own, and people won't even be aware of what they are doing

Don’t know if someone already mentioned this here. I just saw that ledger already made this move by asking all resellers in Asia to pull their product from the shelves while their investigation continues.


 This is definitely a good move
https://www.reddit.com/r/ledgerwallet/s/dqX4xNigrZ

According to some reports, there are some people who buy these devices from marketplaces like Amazon, which offer a 10-day return window and take advantage of that time to implant the tampered chip, they then return the device to the marketplace, simply waiting for the next victim to buy it...

In other words, it isn't always the resellers themselves doing the tampering, it could be malicious customers making purchases with that specific intention.

That is why I never recommend buying these devices from marketplaces, the risk of tampering is huge, even official resellers are no longer safe. This could be Ledger's fault for allowing this by design, specifically their "genuine check" isn't effective enough, as it allows devices containing malicious implants to still be identified as genuine...

Link: https://x.com/AddictCryptoBoy/status/2110066395455369456

It looks easier than I thought that it would be, but I would still not consider this a solution to this problem for the retail. Look what it says for Nano X on the ledger link that you have quoted:

And we know if the person starts looking for qualified tech personnel to open their hardware wallet, and even more if they are elderly or not good with tech at all they are just going to get scammed by another method even if there was no spy chip implanted in the first one.  

I don't know how useful this is if it only detects modifications directly on the same microcontroller. If it is not able to detect any connections or modifications to the surrounding areas, spy bugs or similar then I consider the Secure Element to be pretty weak of an assurance and it is limited to only some types of attacks. It is not realistic on scale to ask people to check the devices this way. I wonder if it is better to make it completely sealed, so that any unsealing would destroy the device. This still could be compromised in the manufacturing stage, but it would stop the easier attack of doing it through returns or reselling.

I really doubt that, you maybe do not read other platforms so much. Coldcard had a bad reputation even before the hack in many places except small elite circles, and Ledger is on a good reputation even more in shitcoin circles despite everything that they have done wrong so far..