Post
Topic
Board Hardware wallets
Re: Ledger Recovery - Send your (encrypted) recovery phrase to 3rd parties entities
by
witcher_sense
on 31/05/2023, 08:36:25 UTC
I also thought about it. Theoretically, hackers can make a patch for Ledger Live to intercept the encrypted Seed, which is divided into 3 parts. Of course, without the decryption key stored on the Ledger, they can't do anything. But where is the guarantee that this key will not leak in the future? So I think such a step on the part of Ledger is too presumptuous.

As has been said many times, you can use a brand new Ledger device to conduct the decryption process, which means a hardware wallet itself can't obtain it except through direct communication with trusted third parties. Having undergone a KYC procedure, you connect any Ledger device to your Ledger Live App and receive pieces of encrypted seed along with the decryption key. In other words, once you handed over your secrets to third parties, you gave them everything needed to steal your coins, including an encrypted secret, decryption key, and all your personal information.  At best, you are no longer the sole owner of particular UTXOs in the blockchain because this recovery feature negates all the benefits that a hardware wallet should provide. From the point of view of the Ledger company, a hardware wallet is nothing else but another form of custodial solution where users are unable to protect themselves from counterparty risk and government attacks.