Hardware wallet supply chain risks highlighted by Ledger implant incident

Security researcher Joe Grand stated that ordinary cryptocurrency owners cannot realistically detect sophisticated hardware wallet tampering. This concern was amplified after Ledger confirmed an unauthorized implant in a device sold through CryptoBilis, a reseller in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, which captured recovery phrases via cellular networks. Experts like Mati Greenspan noted that buying a hardware wallet introduces a new chain of trust from manufacturer to supplier, while Nick Neuman of Casa advised spreading risk across multiple providers, as avoiding all intermediaries is impossible.