🔍 Read the full analysis: Trezor Confirms Implants In Three Safe 5 Wallets—Here’s What The Fix Can Do on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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TL;DR
Trezor confirmed implants in three Safe 5 hardware wallets purchased through former reseller CryptoBilis. The extra boards copied recovery words and passphrases shown on the screen and transmitted the data over a mobile network, according to Trezor. Firmware 2.13.1 blocks the implants Trezor has identified, but cannot protect recovery data captured before the update; the company says no affected owner has reported losing funds.
Trezor has confirmed implants in three Safe 5 hardware wallets bought through former reseller CryptoBilis, saying the added circuit boards copied recovery words and passphrases displayed on the devices and sent the data over a mobile network. The company says firmware 2.13.1, released November 11, blocks the implants it has identified, but cannot protect a wallet backup captured before the update.
Trezor said its lab examined one device reported by a customer and identified two more implanted Safe 5 wallets from photographs submitted by their owners. The three devices were purchased between August 20 and September 23, 2026, through CryptoBilis’s Tokopedia and Shopee stores or directly from the reseller. They are three individual devices of the same model, not three different wallet models.
According to Trezor’s analysis of the implant’s firmware, the extra circuit board sits between the Safe 5’s main board and its screen. It copies information displayed on the screen, including recovery words shown during wallet setup or typed when restoring a wallet, and a passphrase if one appears. Trezor says the implant encrypts the captured information and sends it to an attacker-controlled server over a mobile connection; if it cannot connect, it stores the data and tries again later.
Trezor says the implant does not alter the wallet’s firmware or Secure Element, the chip used for security functions. The company reported that no owner of the three confirmed devices has reported losing funds. It said 48 CryptoBilis customers have come forward and their devices are being checked. Trezor is working with SEAL 911, a security incident response service.
Trezor Safe 5 implant · how it works
What the hidden board copies, and what the fix stops
How Trezor describes the implant it found in three Safe 5 wallets bought from CryptoBilis, and what firmware 2.13.1 changes.
Inside the device (schematic)
mobile network
Step by step
- 1Recovery words appear on the screen, when a wallet backup is created or a wallet is restored
- 2The extra board copies them, and a passphrase if one is shown. Firmware and Secure Element stay unchanged
- 3It encrypts the data and sends it over the mobile network. No connection: it keeps the data and retries
- 4Firmware 2.13.1, released Nov 11: stops the implants found so far from capturing anything
Confirmed
3 Safe 5 devices, bought Aug 20 – Sep 23, 2026 from CryptoBilis
Being checked
48 CryptoBilis buyers came forward; no tampering found at other resellers in the region
Funds lost
None reported so far, Trezor says
Source: Trezor, “Our CryptoBilis investigation: what we found and what we’ve changed”, Nov 12, 2026; Trezor firmware changelog (2.13.1, released Nov 11, 2026). Schematic drawing, not the real board layout.
Graphic: Powered by Thorsten Meyer AI
Recovery Data Was Exposed
The finding matters because recovery words can provide access to the wallet they protect. A device that copies those words could expose a user’s funds even if its main firmware and security chip have not been altered, according to Trezor’s description of the implant. The company has not reported losses among the three confirmed owners, but the captured data could remain a concern if it was transmitted before the fix.
Trezor says version 2.13.1 stops the implants it has found from capturing information on devices running the update. That protection does not reverse an earlier capture: if recovery words were copied before updating, installing the firmware cannot make those words secret again. The company’s warning therefore distinguishes between blocking future collection and addressing data that may already have left a device.
The case also highlights a supply-chain risk for hardware wallets. Trezor’s account says the implant was fitted to devices after they left the manufacturer’s control, at a point in the sales and distribution channel. Buyers cannot infer from this incident alone that other devices are affected; Trezor says the confirmed cases were limited to the three Safe 5s it identified so far.
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From Reseller Warning to Confirmation
Trezor removed CryptoBilis from its reseller network on October 9, 2026. That day, according to Trezor, Ledger began investigating losses reported by customers who had bought hardware wallets through CryptoBilis, then a Ledger reseller. Ledger later said some devices had been physically tampered with. In an October 15 statement, Ledger described the incident as “an attack on the distribution channel after the devices left our control.”
On October 28, a Trezor customer in Indonesia reported an extra circuit board inside a Safe 5 bought from CryptoBilis through Tokopedia. Trezor issued a customer warning on October 30 before it had examined the device, saying it did not want to leave buyers exposed while awaiting lab confirmation. The company says that confirmation came on November 12, after its lab examined the reported wallet and owners supplied photographs of two additional devices.
Trezor released firmware 2.13.1 on November 11 for the Safe 7, Safe 5, Safe 3 and Model T. The company says the update’s protection applies to devices running it and renders the batch of implants it has found unable to capture data. Trezor also says it has reduced its reseller network by about 80%, though it has not provided further detail in the supplied account about how that reduction was calculated.
“It only listens.”
— Trezor, on the implant’s behavior
Scope and Prior Exposure
The full scope of the incident remains unclear. Trezor says it has confirmed three implanted Safe 5 devices and that 48 CryptoBilis customers have come forward for checks. The supplied information does not say how many of those customer devices have been examined, whether more implants will be found, or how many users’ data may have been transmitted.
Trezor says none of the owners of the three confirmed wallets has reported losing funds, but it has not stated whether the implant’s operators accessed or used any captured recovery words or passphrases. It is also not clear how long each implant operated or whether its stored data was successfully sent to the attackers’ server. The company’s analysis describes the data collection method, not the attackers’ subsequent actions.
The update is described as stopping the implants Trezor has found. The available account does not establish whether it would block every possible hardware modification or identify an implanted device by itself. Trezor says devices it has checked outside the confirmed cases showed no evidence of tampering, including devices from other regional resellers; those checks do not establish the status of every device sold in the region.
Customer Checks Continue
Trezor says it is checking devices belonging to customers who bought wallets through CryptoBilis, with 48 customers having come forward so far. Owners affected by the warning should follow Trezor’s official instructions and install firmware 2.13.1 on supported devices. Because an update cannot undo a possible earlier capture, customers should consult Trezor’s guidance about whether to treat a backup as exposed rather than assume the firmware alone addresses past exposure.
The company is working with SEAL 911 as checks continue. Trezor has not given a completion date for the customer review or said when it will publish a final count. Further updates on the number of devices examined, any additional confirmed implants, and whether investigators establish that captured data was used would clarify the incident’s reach.
Key Questions
How many Trezor wallets have confirmed implants?
Trezor has confirmed three individual Safe 5 devices. The company identified one through lab examination and two more from photographs provided by their owners.
What did the implant capture?
According to Trezor, it copied information displayed on the Safe 5 screen, including recovery words during setup or restoration and a passphrase if one appeared. It encrypted the captured data and attempted to send it over a mobile network to a server controlled by the attackers.
Does firmware 2.13.1 protect an earlier wallet backup?
No. Trezor says the update blocks the implants it has identified from capturing data on updated devices, but cannot protect information captured before installation.
Have the affected owners lost funds?
Trezor says none of the owners of the three confirmed devices has reported losing funds. It has not said whether captured data was accessed or used by the attackers.
Which devices can receive the update?
Trezor’s changelog lists firmware 2.13.1, released November 11, for the Safe 7, Safe 5, Safe 3 and Model T. The company says the protection stops the implants it has found from capturing information on devices running the update.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
