Cyph3rp9nk on Nostr: Secure elements and hardware wallets Why are secure elements used in Hardware ...
Secure elements and hardware wallets
Why are secure elements used in Hardware Wallets?
Plain and simple for UX.
If your encryption depends on a numerical PIN of a few digits you are screwed.
The secure element adds a layer of encryption so that in case you can extract the seed from the chip you can not attack it by brute force.
If you use a sufficiently strong passphrase or if hardware wallets allow you to enter a password for encryption, there would be no need for secure elements, it's all about UX.
On the other hand, in cryptography you should never trust. Secure elements are a black box, and by contract you can't even publish their vulnerabilities. What's the point of using encryption if you're trusting a third party? that's useless.
It is true that there are solutions like coldcard where two secure elements are used so you don't have to trust them, but I still think it's stupid, I don't care about the UX, I want my bitcoins to be safe.
When you understand this, you realize how stupid the hardware wallet industry is.
Why are secure elements used in Hardware Wallets?
Plain and simple for UX.
If your encryption depends on a numerical PIN of a few digits you are screwed.
The secure element adds a layer of encryption so that in case you can extract the seed from the chip you can not attack it by brute force.
If you use a sufficiently strong passphrase or if hardware wallets allow you to enter a password for encryption, there would be no need for secure elements, it's all about UX.
On the other hand, in cryptography you should never trust. Secure elements are a black box, and by contract you can't even publish their vulnerabilities. What's the point of using encryption if you're trusting a third party? that's useless.
It is true that there are solutions like coldcard where two secure elements are used so you don't have to trust them, but I still think it's stupid, I don't care about the UX, I want my bitcoins to be safe.
When you understand this, you realize how stupid the hardware wallet industry is.