The Dangers of Physical Attacks on Your Hardware Wallet
Not long ago, another well know hardware wallet got hacked under test conditions, and it wasn’t the first one this year either. Among all these hacks on the famous hardware wallets, there is one thing in common. The similarity is that hackers must first have physical access to the device for a considerable amount of time. Therefore, it is within reason to get your coins stolen if you happen to lose your hardware wallet and not find out about it until it is too late.
Physical access is usually required to hack a hardware wallet because the first step is to modify the device. A few modifications, such as connecting it to an external component, can allow hackers to attempt decrypting the password or extracting the private key. Hackers can also install remote-controlled components or fake firmware to your hardware wallet and then give it to you. Such an attack can let hackers assess your funds without even needing physical access again.
Physical attacks can happen anytime along the lifetime of the hardware wallet, whether it is at the distributor center or the safety of your house. Every hardware wallet owner needs to be mindful of this weakness and not carelessly let their hardware wallet go out of sight. More importantly, always keep a back up to help you transfer your assets out before hackers get their hands on it.
ELLIPAL’s Unique Solution Against Physical Attacks
ELLIPAL realized the importance of protecting against physical attacks since we were designing, our flagship, the ELLIPAL Titan. Thanks to our efforts, ELLIPAL Titan cold wallet is the only hardware wallet that has unique protection against physical attacks.
1) Anti-Tamper
ELLIPAL Titan has one crucial feature, which is the anti-tamper feature to defend against physical attacks. The ELLIPAL Titan can delete its whole system if it detects a breach. A complete deletion gets rid of the private key, meaning there will be nothing left for the hacker to salvage. The user can save their worries and focus on how to recover their wallets and send their assets to a new account.
2) Anti-Disassembly
As all ELLIPAL Titan owners know, the ELLIPAL Titan’s body is made entirely out of metal. The screen is sealed tightly to the body to create an IP65 level seal, allowing it to have dust and waterproof abilities. The tight seal and metal body mean it is very tough to crack open the ELLIPAL Titan. To break the metal or break the screen will ultimately cause irreversible, permanent damage. If hackers have infiltrated your ELLIPAL Titan, you will know right away because of the apparent damage.
3) Easy to recover
Some hardware wallets only allow recovery on another similar hardware wallet. Doing this means the user needs another device available right away to restore the wallet quickly. ELLIPAL offers both hot wallet (App) and cold wallet (ELLIPAL Titan) solutions, meaning users can quickly recover their account on their phones right away using mnemonics. Once recovered, they can send their funds to a new account to secure their assets.
ELLIPAL has taken extra steps to not only protect our users against remote attacks but also physical attacks. As physical attacks are the leading cause of all hacks, ELLIPAL’s solution can allow users to feel more secure whenever they are not with their hardware wallets.