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Counterfeit Ledger Wallets Found With Hidden WiFi Chips
Malicious hardware devices are exfiltrating private keys for BTC and ETH. With $9.5M already lost to fraud, verify all devices to avoid total asset theft.
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Security researchers have identified a new strain of counterfeit Ledger hardware wallets circulating on Chinese marketplaces equipped with embedded wireless antennas. These malicious devices are engineered to intercept and exfiltrate user seed phrases, marking a sophisticated escalation in physical supply chain attacks against retail crypto holders. The discovery follows a separate incident earlier this week where users lost $9.5M to a fraudulent Ledger-branded application.
The Hardware Threat Vector
The modified devices appear identical to authentic Ledger hardware at a glance, but the internal modifications allow unauthorized actors to transmit private data over a wireless connection. By embedding a hidden WiFi chip, the counterfeiters bypass the air-gapped security model inherent to cold storage. Once a user initializes the wallet, the device broadcasts the mnemonic recovery phrase to an external server, granting attackers immediate access to the associated Bitcoin (BTC) profile or Ethereum (ETH) profile holdings.
This physical compromise highlights the vulnerability of the secondary hardware market. While manufacturers like Ledger maintain strict supply chains, the proliferation of third-party resellers on global marketplaces creates a blind spot for retail investors who prioritize cost or availability over security provenance.
"The sophistication of these devices suggests a coordinated effort to harvest assets from unsuspecting users who believe they are securing their funds in cold storage," noted one independent researcher tracking the supply chain intrusion.