Ledger underscored its commitment to self-custody of funds in response to continued customer criticism over May 16.
Earlier, the hardware maker announced a feature called Recover which allows users to restore their seed phrase. This has garnered some backlash due to its security risks, as the seed phrase is all that is needed to access most crypto wallets.
Ledger exec says recovery is optional
In a Twitter Spaces conversation, Ledger Chief Experience Officer Ian C. Rogers tried to reassure users that their data remains safe. He said:
“(Ledger Recover) is a service that allows people to sign up. It’s 1000% optional. If you don’t want Ledger Recover, don’t accept and your attack surface won’t change at all.
He said Ledger is comprised of “safety and self-guarding maximums” and said the team will not introduce any features that compromise those principles.
Rogers also said that despite the current backlash against Ledger Recover, most customers had previously expressed a desire for such a feature and reacted positively when the feature was announced in advance weeks ago.
He added that Recover provides $50,000 coverage in case “something goes wrong”. However, Rogers did not specify under what conditions this compensation is available. The company’s official website uses the same non-specific wording and states that this offer is “subject to investigation”.
Feature is not a backdoor, according to CSO
Charles Guillemet, Director of Security at Ledger, then described Recover’s security model. He noted that the feature’s approach to data backup involves sharing encrypted seeds and storing that data with multiple custodians.
Guillemet emphasized that this does not give Ledger or anyone backdoor access to users’ wallets or devices. He said:
“(Some say) this feature will add a backdoor. Well it’s not a backdoor at all because you are in control…you decide whether to use it or not and nothing will happen without your consent .
It remains to be seen whether these assurances will satisfy users. Ledger’s clawback feature has quickly become one of the most controversial trading decisions in cryptocurrency history, and commenters on Twitter say their questions have gone unanswered.
Ledger is one of the largest manufacturers of hardware wallets, which means it will likely remain dominant despite any backlash. Its main competitor is Trezor.
Ledger post calls itself a ‘self-guarding maxi’, says recovery service is optional appeared first on CryptoSlate.