Ledger
Ledger is a French company founded in 2014 that develops hardware wallets, companion software and infrastructure for managing cryptocurrency assets. Its consumer devices act as transaction signers; its enterprise business provides digital-asset security infrastructure.[1]
Devices and software
Ledger's hardware-wallet range has included the original Ledger Nano S, Nano S Plus, Nano X, Stax, Flex and Nano Gen5.[2] In October 2025, the company announced Nano Gen5 and that its companion application's name was changing from Ledger Live to Ledger Wallet.[3] Ledger announced another device, Ledger Atom, on 15 October 2026; the announcement alone does not establish availability in every market.[4]
Ledger retired the original Nano S from production in 2022 in favor of Nano S Plus. Its support documentation later warned that Nano S support was being phased out and that future blockchain changes could affect compatibility. The notice does not specify a universal date when existing devices will stop functioning.[5][6]
Ledger Wallet is the companion application for managing accounts and interacting with a Ledger signer. It replaced the Chrome-app workflow described in older Ledger documentation. Hardware, software and individual blockchain applications have different compatibility requirements; a fixed list of supported currencies does not describe every device and application combination.[3][6]
Security architecture
Ledger describes BOLOS (Blockchain Open Ledger Operating System) as an architecture combining a Secure Element with an operating system that separates applications. These are security design features, not guarantees against every physical or software attack.[7]
Hardware signing separates key use from much of the connected computer's software. Users still authorize transactions, and protection depends on device integrity, the information displayed for approval and the secrecy of recovery material. Private-key isolation does not prevent users from signing malicious transactions.[8][9]
Security and customer-data incidents
Customer data
In 2020, attackers obtained customer contact information from Ledger's e-commerce and marketing database. The company later reported publication of the stolen data and a separate incident involving Shopify transactional records. These incidents concerned customer information, not hardware-wallet private keys.[10]
Connect Kit
On 14 December 2023, an attacker published malicious versions of Ledger Connect Kit through access associated with a former employee's npm account. Decentralized applications loading the package could present requests that induced users to sign transactions draining assets. Ledger described a software-distribution attack that induced malicious transaction approval; its report did not describe private-key extraction from device Secure Elements.[9]
Hardware implants
On 13 October 2026, The Record reported Ledger's account that hidden components in devices sold through Southeast Asian reseller CryptoBilis captured recovery phrases displayed during setup. As of that report, Ledger had not confirmed total losses or identified affected models. The Record also reported Ledger's warning that the devices might still pass authenticity checks because their Secure Element remained intact.[11]
Separately, security researcher Joe Grand documented a real-world implant in a Ledger Nano X, with slides revised on 29 May 2026. His findings concerned the device he examined; the cited sources did not establish the model range or a relationship to the later reseller incident.[12]
See also
References
- ↑ Ledger: The company. Accessed 19 October 2026.
- ↑ Ledger: Which Ledger Signer Is Right for You?, accessed 19 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Ledger: Introducing Ledger Nano Gen5 & Ledger Wallet, 23 October 2025.
- ↑ Ledger: Introducing Ledger Atom, 15 October 2026.
- ↑ Ledger: Commemorating The Ledger Nano S, 22 June 2022.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Ledger Support: Ethereum (ETH), Nano S compatibility notice, updated 27 July 2026.
- ↑ Ledger: Introducing BOLOS: Blockchain Open Ledger Operating System, 2 March 2016.
- ↑ Bitcoin Developer Guide: Wallets, hardware wallets. Accessed 19 October 2026.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Ledger: Security Incident Report, 20 December 2023.
- ↑ Ledger: Update: Efforts to Protect Your Data and Prosecute The Scammers, 13 January 2021.
- ↑ Alexander Martin, The Record: Ledger says hardware implant in cryptocurrency wallets stole recovery phrases, 13 October 2026.
- ↑ Grand Idea Studio: Reverse Engineering a Ledger Nano X Hardware Implant. Accessed 19 October 2026.