Ledger Crypto Hardware Wallets
Products
Upcoming products
Ledger Stax is an exciting new e-ink display powered harware wallet that was announced in December 2022. Sadly in August 2023 the product page still reads
Thanks for your interest and excitement about Ledger Stax! All the pre-orders we have received will be delivered in the near future. Sign up to be the 1st to know as soon as we re-open orders. Please note that Ledger Nanos are in stock and shipping today.
https://shop.ledger.com/products/ledger-stax
Controversies
May 2023
Incident summary
Ledger Recover service
On May 16, Paris-based crypto hardware wallet provider Ledger announced plans for a new feature called Ledger Recover. This optional, paid subscription service was designed to help Ledger Nano X wallet holders recover their assets in case they forget or lose their seed phrase. However, the announcement received criticism from some members of the Web3 community. They argued that the firmware update required for the service goes against Ledger’s policy of safeguarding a user’s private key within the device.
In response to the backlash, Ledger postponed the launch of the key recovery feature on May 23. In a letter to Ledger users, CEO Pascal Gauthier apologized for any confusion and promised to work with the community to introduce the feature in the right way. Additionally, Ledger will publish all of its code before launching the new feature. The company also hosted a community AMA on Twitter on May 23 to address users’ comments and concerns directly.
Official statement from Ledger
https://www.ledger.com/blog/ledger-recover-a-message-from-pascal-gauthier-chairman-ceo-at-ledger
Our verdict
The initial backlash was about hypothetical security concerns and a potential of compromised private keys. Ledger decided to postpone the launch of the service and seems to be sincere in trying to address all the customer concerns by open sourcing the relevant source code before launching the service. As this development is quite recent it is hard to predict what the future will really be. It seems reasonable to expect Ledger to work with the community and put all concerns to rest.
July 2020
Incident summary
Hacked marketing database
In July 2020, Ledger experienced a data breach that led to a significant marketing database incident. The breach exposed the personal information of thousands of Ledger customers. The compromised data included email addresses, names, and in some cases, postal addresses and phone numbers.
The incident occurred when unauthorized individuals gained access to Ledger’s internal systems, resulting in the theft of the customer data. The attackers then distributed this stolen information online, leading to potential risks such as phishing attacks, scams, and identity theft for the affected customers.
Ledger took immediate action by acknowledging the breach and notifying their customers about the incident. They urged users to be cautious of phishing attempts and provided guidelines on how to safeguard their information. The company also enhanced its security measures and processes to prevent similar incidents in the future.
The incident highlighted the importance of maintaining strong cybersecurity practices, particularly for companies dealing with sensitive financial and personal data in the growing cryptocurrency industry. It also served as a reminder for customers to remain vigilant against potential scams and phishing attempts.
Official statement from Ledger
https://www.ledger.com/addressing-the-july-2020-e-commerce-and-marketing-data-breach
Our verdict
Although very embarrassing for a company that creates a product that heavily relies on trust and security, at least this incident was not stemming from any flaws in their products. While not ideal, it might be something a customer is willing to forgive, as storing crypto assets in a secure manner is more important than abandoning the product and switching to less safe practices over this incident.
Brand
Introduction
Ledger is a prominent company in the field of cryptocurrency security and hardware wallets. The company focuses on developing hardware wallets, which are physical devices designed to securely store and manage users cryptocurrency private keys offline. Ledger’s hardware wallets provide an extra layer of protection against online threats like hacking and phishing attacks, as the private keys never leave the device.
Company background
Founded in 2014 in Paris, France by Eric Larchevêque
Customer data policy
The Ledger products are very well received and probably market leader. Sadly Ledger had a massive customer data breach in mid 2020. No actual data about wallets was affected, but by the end of 2020 there were reports of serious phishing attempts. In some cases the phishing attempts went as far as to pose to be from another hardware wallet company (under the assumption that Ledger customers also buy other hardware wallets).
Source: Offical company statement, Statement of the CEO, Warning of phishing attempts
