Ledger hardware wallet rolls out cloud-based private key recovery tool

cointelegraph.com:

Hardware wallet firm Ledger is rolling out its cloud-based private key recovery solution despite facing significant criticism from the crypto community.

Ledger Recover, an ID-based private key recovery service for the Ledger hardware wallet, is launching on Oct. 24, the firm officially announced on X (formerly Twitter). The release comes in conjunction with Ledger finalizing the open-source code for the Ledger Recover on GitHub.

Provided by blockchain protection platform Coincover, Ledger’s seed phrase recovery solution is a paid subscription service allowing users to back up their Secret Recovery Phrase (SRP). SRP is a unique list of 24 words that backs up the private keys and gives users access to their crypto assets.

A spokesperson for Ledger told Cointelegraph that a Ledger wallet encrypts a “string of random 1s and 0s” from which a SRP is computed. The encrypted string of numbers is then fragmented into three pieces used to backup a SRP.

“Ledger Recover only interacts with the fragments, and never with your SRP in its readable format,” the representative noted. According to Ledger, encrypted SRP fragments are distributed using end-to-end encrypted and authenticated channels of three independent companies including Ledger, Coincover and EscrowTech. The spokesperson added:

Ledger Recover was designed for users who “want to add an enhanced layer of resilience” in case their SRP is ever lost or destroyed, Ledger’s chief technology officer Charles Guillemet said. He also emphasized that Ledger Recover is an optional recovery service, adding:

At launch, Ledger Recover is compatible with Ledger Nano X, with Ledger Stax and Ledger Nano S Plus integration coming in the near future. The solution is not compatible with Ledger Nano