Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier has argued that the cryptocurrency industry should stop treating security as a problem that can be solved by burdening users with more responsibilities. He has stated that “total safety” does not actually exist.
Gauthier claims that hardware wallet makers must design systems that remain safe even when people make mistakes.
Recently, the hardware wallet ecosystem was hit hard by the Coldcard debacle. On July 30, Coinkite warned that Bitcoin wallets generated by affected Coldcard devices could be vulnerable because of an entropy problem in the process of seed generation. Losses had already exceeded 1,000 BTC by July 31, and he warned that affected seeds should be treated as compromised.
Galaxy Research said on August 4 that it had identified 1,596 BTC stolen from 7,300 addresses.
For Gauthier, discipline is not enough in such a case, given that it cannot replace a flawed design.
Shortly after the Coldcard disaster, another hardware wallet manufacturer appeared in the headlines for the wrong reasons. On Aug. 13, as reported by U.Today, Trezor disclosed a breach at its third-party fulfillment provider that exposed data belonging to 13,689 customers in seven countries.
A threat to self-custody?
The Ledger CEO claims that self-custody will remain limited if ordinary users are expected to understand every technical failure mode.
He also stressed that users should not simply trust manufacturers when they claim their products are secure.
“And no one’s design should be taken on their word, ours included,” he wrote.
Therefore, security should be viewed as an ongoing process of testing and improvement.
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