Rather than being welded together ultrasonically like genuine hardware wallets, each half of the device was filled with glue and held together with double-sided tape. Thus, the victim did not immediately notice the theft, and the fraudster transferred 1.33 BTC (worth around $29,585) without the victim’s knowledge.Īlthough the copy we studied appeared identical to the original, the device showed signs of malicious tampering upon opening it. The victim did not make any transactions that day, and the cold wallet was not connected to the computer. However, a recent investigation by Kaspersky revealed a rare case of theft of assets from a hardware wallet, demonstrating how cybercriminals are coming up with new tactics to maximise their profits. As a result, these devices are generally considered safer than ‘hot’ wallets that are connected to the internet at all times. Hardware wallets, also known as ‘cold’ wallets, store cryptocurrency keys on a device the size of a USB stick, which must be plugged into a computer to send crypto or interact with decentralised finance protocols. Kaspersky shared the details behind the incident of cryptocurrency theft involving a hardware wallet, which resulted in the loss of 1.33 BTC worth $29,585. However, even the most advanced hardware wallets on the market may not be fool proof, and there are still risks associated with using fake or infected devices. Cryptocurrency investors often turn to hardware wallets as a secure way to store their digital assets, assuming that they are impenetrable.

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