Can a Bitcoin Hardware Wallet Be Compromised?

[jerry0]

Hey all got a few questions.  Are the 2 hardware wallets people recommend either the nano ledger s or the trezor?  Which of these is preferred or both of them are good?


Is it possible for either of these to be hacked or compromised?  What if someone were to sell you a used one?  Or you cannot get one but someone is willing to get you one because where you are located, you cannot buy it here. 


Can someone here confirm that there would be no issues with it either way?  I checked youtube and the nano ledger you just have to do a reset.  But is that enough?  For example if a stranger sells you one or say someone brings you one but you do not know them... thus say they could be a hacker for example, would it be safe still or not?  Obviously the easiest thing is to buy it online and have it shipped but in certain locations, they cannot ship it here etc.  Would appreciate if someone can answer this.

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[zenhu]

both are good o prefer ledger though. both cant be hacked too except other person have the private key. so buy the old one is fine as long you reset it and use new privatekey

[lite]

Both nano s and trezor are good. i currently own trezor, i have ordered nano s(i'll split my coins and keep on both).

yes, it's absolutely possible for hardware wallet to be compromised. there's more information in below links on how to verify if your hardware wallet has been loaded with good or bad firmware, how to identify etc..
https://doc.satoshilabs.com/trezor-faq/threats.html#reflashing-the-trezor-with-evil-firmware
https://ledger.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005321449-How-to-verify-the-security-integrity-of-my-Nano-S-

If possible directly buy from trezor or nano s.  

[spadormie]

Both hardware wallets are good and cannot be compromised if you try to reset the private key. That's the best thing to do in order for you to secure your wallet.

[mk4]

There is no such thing as "unhackable"; though both Trezor and LedgerNanoS are both surely difficult to crack compared to software wallets, and you probably need to get hold of the victim's wallet device for the hacker to crack.

I'm pretty sure if a seller altered the device in a malicious way, there are ways you can check if the software and hardware in your device is working as intended. I'd prefer buying from the original source though, just to be extra sure. I personally don't like taking risks when talking about my cryptocurrencies.

[Variogam]

I personally prefer the one you did not mention, KeepKey, it is based on Trezor but looks better in my opinion. For resold hardware wallets, you need to check the firmware as lite pointed out.

[jerry0]

Well this is what i want to ask.  If i have a stranger that i dont know buy a nano ledger for me and bring it to me... as long as i reset it, there will be no issues right? 


I dont know much about this person except this person posts on a forum in a friendly online community where they come here and bring stuff down for others who can't get certain products here.

[jseverson]

Both should be equally good. You should note that there was a reported vulnerability on Trezor a few months ago though:

https://medium.com/@Zero404Cool/trezor-security-glitches-reveal-your-private-keys-761eeab03ff8

Despite this, there has been no confirmed thefts on hardware wallets ever. They're the cream of the crop when it comes to safety because people who own them typically know a thing or two about security. They could be compromised because nothing is ever 100% completely un-hackable, but seeing as there are no recorded thefts, it would be extremely hard to pull off.

I personally would not buy a second hand one because there is always the possibility of hacked firmware of some sort. They're not that expensive and it's not worth risking your Bitcoins just to save a few bucks. Do yourself a favor and buy a sealed one. You won't regret it.

[Crypington]

Hardware wallets are about as safe as it gets, but as posted above, there are some hacks that have been discovered and dealt with from time to time.  But I guess it’s not always a bad thing, There was an article posted a while ago about a guy who forgot his pin and couldn’t get his bitcoin out, but some kid helped him hack it.  But it only worked because he never upgraded his Firmware.

[squallw]

Sometime ago some glitch on trezor was revealed that a hacker could extract the private key but the attacker needs the device in the hands.
I think it already patched, but there are no 100% device, but a think that hardware wallet is very safe.
https://medium.com/@Zero404Cool/trezor-security-glitches-reveal-your-private-keys-761eeab03ff8

[jerry0]

Okay so if i were to order a nano ledger s and have it shipped to someones apartment/house.  Then they were to bring it to me, and then i start using it... there would be zero issues with this right? 


The thing is this person helped bring something to me last time because i cannot get a certain thing in my country... im thinking about asking them to bring the nano ledger s.  Thus i order online, have it shipped to their place, then when they come here, they can bring it to me etc.  So that should be no problem?  But if its someone that is a complete stranger, that is still no issues at all?  Can this be confirmed?  If so, i might do this.

[jerry0]

Also can someone who ordered a ledger tell me how long it took for them to receive it after ordering it from trezor.io?  It ships from France right?  I would like to know from someone who is in the US how long it took for them to receive it.


Also could you buy it on amazon.com and its fine?