Tag: Hardware Wallet

Friend.Tech Boosts Security with CoolWallet on Base Chain

by Blockchain News

Friend.tech, a decentralized social media platform operating on Base’s Ethereum layer-2 chain, has been a significant contributor to Base’s recent growth. Base is a secure, low-cost, builder-friendly Ethereum layer-2 chain designed by Coinbase to bring the next billion users on chain. It has become a favorite for DApp developers and early investors due to its outstanding performance and the innovative projects it attracts.

According to the latest data, the platform has surpassed one million daily active users and has a total value locked (TVL) exceeding $35 million. The platform allows users to buy “shares” of other users to chat with them, emphasizing the concept that “Your network is your net worth.”

However, this rapid growth has also attracted cybersecurity threats, notably phishing attacks. These social engineering tactics have been a significant concern in the Web3 sector, with losses already amounting to $650 million as of June 2023. High-profile individuals like Mark Cuban and Vitalik Buterin have also fallen victim to such attacks. To mitigate these risks, Friend.tech strongly recommends its users to employ hardware wallets for enhanced asset security.

In response to these security challenges, CoolWallet, a hardware wallet maker that natively supports the Base ecosystem, has initiated a Web3 Guardian competition. This campaign aims to raise awareness about its Web3 SmartScan feature, which proactively screens all Web3 transactions and flags any malicious behavior or smart contract vulnerabilities. The SmartScan feature is available on the CoolWallet App and offers an added layer of protection against phishing attempts.

To further promote Web3 asset protection, CoolWallet is launching a global competition with generous rewards for participating users. The competition aims to enhance user security awareness and encourage the use of SmartScan for safer transactions. This move is particularly timely, given the increasing number of phishing attacks targeting not just individual users but also high-profile personalities in the crypto space.

The Web3 Guardian competition is expected to draw significant attention, especially among Friend.tech users who are already concerned about asset security. The competition will not only offer rewards but also educate users on the importance of transaction screening, a feature that is often overlooked but crucial in the current landscape of frequent cyber attacks.

Image source: Shutterstock

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Trezor Produces In-House Chips to Speed Up Hardware Wallet Production

by Blockchain News

Trezor, a popular hardware wallet manufacturer, has announced that it will produce its own chip wrapper, a key component of its Trezor Model T wallet, to optimize production and reduce lead times in the supply chain. By bringing chip manufacturing in-house, Trezor can be more agile and adaptable to market conditions, reducing its reliance on third-party suppliers and eliminating shipping delays caused by component supply and demand.

The move is a significant one for Trezor, as it allows the company to take greater control over the supply chain and respond quickly to factors like geopolitical disruption and labor shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, the company was exposed to third-party supply vulnerabilities due to factors like these, which could result in delays in shipping finished products and cause consumers to be exposed to price fluctuations based on component supply and demand.

The move to in-house chip manufacturing also provides Trezor with more design freedom for future products, allowing the wallet provider to build the hardware wallet devices from scratch. Additionally, the move will enable Trezor to respond quickly to market conditions and meet the growing demand for its products.

The decision to produce its own chip wrapper comes a year after Tropic Square, a startup operated by Trezor’s parent firm Satoshi Labs, launched a new open-source chip called TROPIC01, which provides cryptographic key generation, encryption, signing, and authentication for users. Trezor is expected to become the first customer of Tropic Square for the product, which provides a unique business model that can be applied in exceptional cases.

According to Štěpán Uherik, Trezor’s Chief Financial Officer, the company has collaborated with its partner STMicroelectronics to identify areas where they can take control and make the manufacturing process as agile as possible. By unpacking the process, Trezor has managed to optimize the production of its wallets and meet the growing demand for its products.

Trezor’s decision to produce its own chip wrapper is a strategic move that has significant implications for the hardware wallet industry. It allows companies to have greater control over their supply chain, respond quickly to market conditions, and meet the growing demand for hardware wallets.

In conclusion, by producing its own chip wrapper, Trezor is accelerating hardware wallet production and ensuring that it can meet the demand for its products. The move provides greater control over the supply chain, reduces lead times, and eliminates shipping delays caused by component supply and demand. It also provides more design freedom for future products and allows Trezor to respond quickly to market conditions. Overall, it’s a strategic move that positions Trezor as a leader in the hardware wallet industry.

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OneKey Addresses Vulnerability That Allowed Hardware Wallet to be Hacked

by Blockchain News

OneKey, a company that provides cryptographic hardware wallets, has said that it has already patched a flaw in its firmware that made it possible for one of its hardware wallets to be compromised in under one second.

Unciphered, a firm in the field of cybersecurity, said in a video that was uploaded on YouTube on February 10 that it has discovered a means to “break open” a OneKey Mini by taking advantage of a “Massive major flaw” and exploiting it.

It was possible, according to Eric Michaud, a partner at Unciphered, to return the OneKey Mini to “factory mode” and bypass the security pin by disassembling the device and inserting coding. This would allow a potential attacker to remove the mnemonic phrase that is used to recover a wallet. This was made possible by returning the device to “factory mode.”

“You have the central processing unit as well as the security element. Your cryptographic keys will always be stored in the secure element. Michaud noted that in a typical situation, the connections between the central processing unit (CPU), which is where the processing is done, and the secure element are encrypted.

“Well, as it turns out, in this particular instance, it wasn’t built to do so. “What you could do is put a tool in the middle that monitors the communications and intercepts them and then injects their own commands,” he said, adding: “That being said, with password phrases and basic security practices, even physical attacks disclosed by Unciphered will not affect OneKey users.” 

The company went on to emphasize that despite the fact that the vulnerability was concerning, the attack vector that was discovered by Unciphered cannot be used remotely. Instead, it necessitates “disassembly of the device and physical access through a dedicated FPGA device in the lab” in order to be possible to execute.

According to OneKey, after discussion with Unciphered, it was divulged that other wallets have been found to have similar difficulties. This was disclosed when it was discovered that other wallets had the same issue.

OneKey said that they have compensated Unciphered with bounties as a way of expressing gratitude for their contributions to the company’s security.

OneKey has said in a blog post that it has already taken significant precautions to secure the safety of its customers. These precautions include protecting customers against supply chain assaults, which occur when a hacker replaces a real wallet with one that is under their control.

Tamper-proof packaging for shipments has been one of the steps taken by OneKey, along with the use of Apple’s own supply chain service providers for the purpose of ensuring tight supply chain security management.

They have aspirations to add onboard authentication in the not too distant future and to update more recent hardware wallets with higher-level security components.

According to what was said by OneKey, the primary objective of hardware wallets has always been to safeguard the financial assets of users from cyber-attacks, computer viruses, and other potential threats; nevertheless, sadly, nothing can be completely secure.

“When we look at the entire manufacturing process of hardware wallets, from silicon crystals to chip code, from firmware to software, it’s safe to say that any hardware barrier can be breached with enough money, time, and resources; even if it’s a nuclear weapon control system.” “When we look at the entire manufacturing process of hardware wallets, from silicon crystals to chip code, from firmware to software,”

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1inch Network Launches Hardware Wallet Amid Rise of Self-Cust

by Blockchain News

1inch Network, a decentralised exchange (DEX) aggregator, is the most recent cryptocurrency platform to enter the hardware wallet business. This development comes at a time when self-custody is becoming more popular.

The 1inch Hardware Wallet is a proprietary hardware wallet that was built by an independent team operating inside the 1inch Network. The formal introduction of the 1inch Hardware Wallet took place on January 19. The 1inch Hardware Wallet is “completely air-gapped,” which means that it does not have a direct connection to the internet and does not need any kind of wired connection in order to function properly. This was done in order to ensure the highest possible level of security. ” All data is transferred via QR codes or, alternatively, using NFC,” 1inch claimed, pointing out that the 1inch Hardware Wallet does not have any buttons. In addition, 1inch noted that the 1inch Hardware Wallet does not have a display.

The forthcoming hardware wallet is comparable in size to a standard bank card and has a 2.7-inch E-Ink touch display with a grayscale gradient.

The impervious cryptocurrency wallet has a surface made of scratch-proof Gorilla Glass 6 and a frame made of corrosion-resistant stainless steel.

The Li-Po battery in the gadget is meant to provide power for the device for around two weeks, and the device enables wireless charging.

One of the unique characteristics of the 1inch Hardware Wallet is that it imitates the look of the Apple product line. This is one of the wallet’s key advantages.

The wallet is available in five colours, including hex, graphite, sierra blue, silver, and alpine green, which are the same colours as are offered for the iPhone 13 series.

1inch is not the only cryptocurrency company attempting to market its hardware wallet in an effort to capitalise on Apple’s widespread appeal.

The French hardware wallet company Ledger announced a cooperation with Tony Fadell, the creator of the now-iconic iPod Classic model, the previous year in order to produce its most recent cryptocurrency wallet, known as the Ledger Stax.

A spokeswoman for 1inch said that the company began the development of the hardware wallet in the early part of 2022 and anticipates that the device would be released in the fourth quarter of 2023.

In the not-too-distant future, the company also intends to continue with development and improve the security of the system. ” Next month, we will be launching the contributor programme, so everyone will have the opportunity to improve the device truly on their own,” a representative from 1inch said, adding that documentation and source codes will be available on GitHub. Additionally, the representative mentioned that the contributor programme will allow users to improve the device truly on their own.

1inch’s foray into the world of hardware wallets coincides with a growing trend for self-custody in response to widespread mistrust of centralised cryptocurrency exchanges (CEX).

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1inch Network Launches New Hardware Wallet

by Blockchain News

In response to the growing popularity of self-custody, decentralised exchange (DEX) aggregator 1inch Network has become the most recent cryptocurrency platform to enter the hardware wallet business.

The 1inch Hardware Wallet is a proprietary hardware wallet that was built by an independent team operating inside the 1inch Network. The formal launch of the wallet took place on January 19th. “Fully air-gapped” refers to the fact that the 1inch Hardware Wallet does not have a direct connection to the internet and does not need any kind of wired connection in order to guarantee the highest possible level of protection. According to 1inch, ” All data is shared via QR codes or, alternatively, using NFC.” The company also said that the 1inch Hardware Wallet does not have any buttons on it.

A 2.7-inch E-Ink grayscale touch display will be included on the next hardware wallet, which has the dimensions of a standard bank card.

The frame of the watertight cryptocurrency wallet is made of stainless steel, while its surface is made of scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass 6.

The gadget is compatible with wireless charging, and the Li-Po battery is meant to provide power for around two weeks of operation.

The aesthetic of the Apple product line is mirrored in the 1inch Hardware Wallet, which is one of the device’s distinguishing characteristics.

The wallet is available in five hues that correspond to the iPhone 13 colour lineup: hex, graphite, sierra blue, silver, and alpine green.

There are other cryptocurrency companies, in addition to 1inch, who are marketing their hardware wallets in an effort to capitalise on Apple’s widespread appeal.

The French producer of hardware wallets known as Ledger announced a cooperation with Tony Fadell, the creator of the now-iconic iPod Classic form, the previous year in order to build its most recent cryptocurrency wallet known as Ledger Stax.

According to a representative for 1inch, the company began the process of developing the hardware wallet in the early part of 2022 and anticipates releasing the product in the fourth quarter of 2023.

In the not-too-distant future, the company also intends to continue with development and make improvements to security. According to a spokeswoman for 1inch, “next month we will be introducing the contributor programme, so everyone will have the ability to enhance the device really on their own,” and they added that manuals and source codes would be accessible on GitHub.

The launch of 1inch’s first hardware wallet coincides with a growing trend for self-custody as mistrust of centralised cryptocurrency exchanges continues to spread (CEX).

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Over 50% Crypto Investors Backup Security Keys by Paper Wallets, Threatening its Vulnerability

by Blockchain News

New research conducted by Unstoppable Domains, Efani, and NGRAVE suggests that more than half of crypto investors, taking 54% of the respondents, store their security keys on a paper wallet amid intensified cyber attacks. 

More than half of crypto users (54%) continue to keep their backup on a paper wallet. Furthermore, 50% of respondents stated that if someone were to find their backup, their keys would be compromised, per the report.

The study scrutinized investors’ attitudes towards asset security in the crypto space. It was undertaken in 87 countries, with 2,000 people being surveyed. 

Ruben Merre, the CEO and co-founder of NGRAVE, noted:

“The results of our annual Security Self-Audit show that there are glaring gaps in the methods investors are using to ensure the security of their assets, especially at a time when high-profile and high-value breaches are becoming increasingly common. It is clear that there is much to be done to secure the crypto assets of investors the world over, if the industry is to avoid the hacks that we have seen in recent months.”

On the other hand, most respondents had a preference for exchanges. The research stated:

“62% of respondents store part of their crypto on multiple exchanges, while a third of people store more than 40% of their crypto on a single exchange, leaving them vulnerable to a single point of attack.” 

According to the study, the wallet of choice was a QR-code based hardware wallet, with 6 in 10 respondents using one. Furthermore, the use of these wallets also doubled from 10.4% to 21%.

Merre noted that despite 54% of crypto investors keeping their security keys in a paper wallet, this trend declined compared to 67% recorded last year as other options like social backups through Shamir Secret Sharing (SSS) were coming up. He added:

“This trend speaks in favor of the use of metal backups, which grew significantly from 15.8% to 25% over the course of the last 12 months.”

Merre believes investors ought to trust that their assets are secure and safe for mass adoption to happen in the crypto industry.

Some of the mistakes that should be avoided when securing crypto assets include not using a brain wallet, avoiding custodial wallet options, and not paying for a wallet, Blockchain.News reported. 

Image source: Shutterstock

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The team behind the world’s first hardware wallet says it’s still thriving after 8 years

by Cointelegraph

Like all things, Trezor, a household name in the crypto community with over 1 million units sold, came from humble beginnings. The idea all started out in 2011 after a Bitcoin (BTC) conference in Prague, Czechia — which, by the way, was just voted the most beautiful city in the world in a Time Out magazine survey. Two crypto enthusiasts, Pavol “Stick” Rusnák and Marek “Slush” Palatinus, envisioned a small, single-purpose computer that would securely store users’ Bitcoin private keys.

In 2013, the two founded SatoshiLabs. The following year, the first-ever Trezor wallet — Trezor One — launched. Then came the Trezor Model T, which added a touchscreen to the device. Both are still found on the market worldwide, with their firmware patched each month or so. With the invention of seed recovery and passphrase protection, Trezor set the norm for the industry in terms of hardware wallet security.

During an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph, Kristýna Mazánková, head of PR at SatoshiLabs, and Josef Tětek, Trezor’s brand ambassador, discusses how Trezor still remains true to its goal of privacy and security after all these years. When asked about the vulnerability of their customers’ data, they said:

“We don’t have any data on our customers [in our servers] because every 90 days, we wipe whatever is stored. So that’s something that is super important to us because we understand that everything is theoretically hackable.”

They noted that, “When it comes to security, the key feature is it’s a standalone physical device. It’s not possible to hack it remotely.”

“If somebody were to get your hardware wallet, there is an additional layers of protection, such as the PIN code, which locks the device. Even if they were to get around that, there’s always the recovery seed.”

Tětek then explained that it’s still not the end of the world if hackers manage to find one’s recovery seed, as the inclusion of a passphrase makes the recovery seed useless by itself. “If you have your Trezor setup, with a recovery seed written down and protected with both PIN and passcode, there’s no way to hack the device at all,” says Tětek. However, he warned:

“Without the passphrase production, there is the possibility to read the seed from the device if you have very specialized equipment.”

When asked about just how on Earth a hacker managed to hack a Trezor wallet and recovered $2 million in ‘lost’ crypto in January, Mazánková and Tětek told Cointelegraph:

“It was like a double coincidence that the owner didn’t update their firmware for five years and didn’t have a password set up. So I think the engineer conducted about 1,000 tries to make sure he didn’t fry the chip before extracting it because if he had one mistake on the chip, he would fry the chip, and the wallet would become non-recoverable.”

Privacy and security aside, since the release of Model One and Model T, there have been additional features, such as doing everything on display, desktop, or web applications when connected. In addition, one can buy and sell Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies directly to an address via Trezor Suite.

This year Trezor is also focusing on integrating CoinJoin into its hardware wallet. Made possible by Bitcoin’s Taproot upgrade last November, CoinJoin collates multiple Bitcoin transactions into a single arrangement to obfuscate who owns which coin afterward, thereby significiantly improving user privacy. Another major update on the table is being able to run one’s own node directly from the Trezor Suite.