Post
Topic
Board Hardware wallets
Merits 1 from 1 user
Re: Bitcoin Threat Model - State Actors and HW Security - Chip Supply Chain Attacks
by
NotATether
on 18/05/2025, 05:34:07 UTC
⭐ Merited by JayJuanGee (1)
I have the uncanny feeling that the only "state actor" that would try to attack Bitcoin itself is not Russia or the USA, but North Korea. They are exactly the kind of people who would attempt something like this.

This would involve attacking the HSM chip manufacturer's hardware itself, whether by exploiting an unfixable hardware vulnerability or by infecting some developer's computer to inject their own flaws into the manufacturing process.

It would be basically amount to being able to steal the private keys of every single device from that brand ever made.

I think the best way to protect from this is two-fold. 1) Cybersecurity, and specifically the art of finding bugs, needs to be made an essential part of Bitcoin education. 2) The community needs to start producing its own chips. Whether by 3D printing or some other way.