The CEO Mark Karpel stated on October 16, 2026, that reports of Ledger hardware wallets being tampered with could be traced back to at least December 2025. He questioned the response from Ledger and informed Cointelegraph that he knew of at least two people who had contacted the company regarding devices that had been altered, but since then, no public warnings were issued.

Karpel calls on Ledger to be more proactive in reminding customers that the increasing number of reports and the increasingly complex attack methods mean that companies should take action. His criticism is directed at devices equipped with malicious hardware components.

Ledger Hardware Wallet Tampering: Reports and Responses

Security researcher Joe Grand stated that on March 4, 2026, he notified Ledger that he had discovered an intrusion in a Nano X device purchased through Lazada in Thailand. The device was purchased in August 2025, several months prior to his reporting of the issue to the manufacturer.

Grand stated that Ledger acknowledged his findings and informed him that the company was conducting an internal investigation. He also criticized the company for not proactively issuing warnings to customers regarding this threat, which is in line with Karpel's concerns about open communication.

Another security incident disclosed on October 9, 2026, involved losses of cryptocurrency, with the affected wallets being sold through a Southeast Asian authorized distributor CryptoBilis. This incident occurred after the earlier reports described by Karpel and Grand.

These Ledger hardware wallet tampering reports involve devices purchased from online markets as well as those sold by authorized dealers. Ledger It has been confirmed that one of the devices affected in the CryptoBilis incident contained unauthorized embedded components.

This article was generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence and has been reviewed by an editorial team.