News · Security · November 14, 2026
Trezor: implants found in three wallets from one reseller
Trezor says hidden boards copied recovery words on three Safe 5 devices bought from one reseller. What is proven, and what owners should do.
DRIVE 369 DAO · 3 min read
Trezor says three Trezor Safe 5 hardware wallets sold by one reseller, CryptoBilis, contained a hidden board that copied recovery words from the screen. Nobody has reported lost funds. Owners who bought from that reseller are told to move their funds to a new wallet with a new recovery phrase. Facts below come from Trezor's investigation post of November 12, 2026, read on November 14.
What Trezor reports
| Point | What Trezor says |
|---|---|
| Devices | Three Safe 5 devices confirmed. Trezor's lab examined one; the other two were identified from photos sent by their owners |
| Where bought | CryptoBilis, through its Tokopedia and Shopee stores and directly, between August 20 and September 23, 2026 |
| Contact | 48 CryptoBilis customers have been contacted; their devices are being checked |
| The implant | An extra circuit board between the main board and the screen. It copies what is shown and typed, including recovery words and passphrases, encrypts it and sends it over a mobile network, retrying if there is no connection |
| What it does not touch | Firmware and the Secure Element were not modified |
| Other sources | No implant found in devices from other resellers in the region or in any other Trezor model |
| Losses | No customer has reported losing funds |
What is proven, and what is not
The implant description and the count of three come from the maker, and only one device was examined in its lab. Trezor has not named the reseller's country in its post and says it is still investigating; it will not publish technical details that could help attackers. A report by BleepingComputer adds details we could not check on Trezor's own page, so we leave them out.
What changed
- Firmware 2.13.1 (November 11) stops the current implants from capturing data on a device running it. It cannot protect a phrase captured earlier.
- Replacement: buyers from CryptoBilis from March 2026 onward are eligible for a replacement or refund, and should keep their device and contact Trezor support.
- Resellers: Trezor cut its reseller network by about 80% and set stricter rules for sourcing, storing and accessing devices.
Do this week
- Check where your device came from. If it came through a reseller, not the maker, find out which one.
- If it came from CryptoBilis, follow Trezor's steps: update, create a new wallet with a new phrase, move your funds, contact support. Do it from a device you trust.
- Buy new devices from the maker. Trezor's only published advice for authenticity is to buy directly.
- Never type or show a recovery phrase on a device you cannot account for. A screen can be copied; a phrase on a captured screen is gone for good.
More: supply chain hygiene · secrets and rotation
Where Ghostdrive stands
Ghostdrive is not a hardware wallet, and nothing here touches our code. The lesson applies to us too: recovery words are shown on your own device, and a device that was altered before you got it can capture whatever it shows. We cannot protect words from a compromised device. Ghostdrive is a testnet with an audit pending, and testnet coins have no value.
Questions
- What did Trezor find?
- Three Trezor Safe 5 devices bought from the reseller CryptoBilis between August 20 and September 23, 2026 contained an extra circuit board that copied what appeared on the screen, including recovery words, and sent it out over a mobile network.
- Does the firmware update fix it?
- Firmware 2.13.1, released November 11, stops these implants from capturing data on devices running it. It cannot protect a recovery phrase that was already captured, so buyers from CryptoBilis are told to move their funds to a new wallet with a new phrase.
- How do I reduce the risk of a tampered device?
- Trezor advises buying directly from the maker and contacting its support if you are unsure where a device came from. No other verification steps are published in its post.