​Ledger will launch the criticized private key recovery feature by the end of 2023

What’s new? Hardware cryptocurrency wallet provider Ledger announced the launch of Ledger Recover, a private key recovery feature, in Q4 of this year. Previously, this upgrade faced harsh criticism from users and experts alike due to the risks of data leakage, in response the company pledged to publishits code in the public domain before the launch. So, on June 21, Ledger CTO Charles Guillemet published White Paper updates.

📰Today, we are publishing the Ledger Recover White Paper, a key step in allowing anyone to audit the cryptographic protocols.This builds on the over 150 apps and other open-source enablement Ledger has already implemented.Don’t trust, verify.🧵 pic.twitter.com/SbjDQRYCQM

— Charles Guillemet (@P3b7_) June 21, 2023

The Ledger Recover feature is available for Nano X models and allows one to recover a private key from the wallet. When activated, parts of the encrypted seed phrase are sent for storage to third parties for a monthly fee.

What else is known about the launch? Guillemet said that the private key recovery service will be provided by digital asset security firm Coincover. “You can learn precisely how it works technically and examine the service yourself,” CTO noted, assuring that it is “100% secure” under the documentation.

Ledger Recover’s repository provides three main operational flows, including backing up the seed phrase, its recovery on a new device, and secure backups’ deletion. The white paper also provides details about Ledger Recover’s design and cryptographic protocol.

The upgrade includes splitting the seed phrase into parts using the existing private key distributing technology known as Shamir backup. If there are insufficient parts, no information about the full password will be provided, the White Paper notes.

According to the paper, users can run the protocol independently of Ledger, emphasizing its flexibility and encouraging self-custody.

Trezor wallet sales rise by 900% after the Ledger scandal

The company’s CEO said that hardware wallet makers “should, at no stage, make the seed phrase accessible to anyone but the user”

Read further

ссылкой-врезкой

Earlier, Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier confirmed that when the upgrade is activated, users’ seed phrases could be handed over to government agencies at the request of the court. At the same time, he doubted that “the average person gets subpoenaed everyday.” The company also stressed that Ledger Recover activation is not mandatory.