At Ledger, we strongly believe in an open-source approach. It's a great set of principles that advocates openness and transparency, some of our core values. That's why we're constantly working towards making source code components available, reviewable, and auditable. Importantly, a majority of Ledger's code is open source, including Ledger Wallet™, Wallet API, Secure SDK, and embedded applications on our devices.
Open-source software reduces the need for trust from users, however, it's not entirely bulletproof. Open-source software on non-secure chips will still be highly vulnerable to side-channel and fault attacks. Given the choice of using the Secure Element and being almost completely open-source vs using a non secure chip and being fully open-source, Ledger chooses the more secure approach.
We encourage everyone to research thoroughly and make informed decisions about their security. With a decade of innovation, over 8 million devices sold, and a track record of zero hacks, Ledger stands as the trusted leader in hardware wallet security.
Ledger takes transparency seriously. While we employ proprietary software for our Secure Elements, this choice ensures the highest level of tamper resistance and security. You can review key components like the OS commands dispatcher and entry points of Ledger Recover implementation, with more parts of the Ledger OS being gradually released for verification.
Our proprietary software is essential for the security of the Secure Elements, which utilize advanced technology from trusted manufacturers to implement hardware countermeasures against potential attacks, even with physical access. Some code is tied to the Secure Element's security peripherals, which are proprietary intellectual property of the manufacturer. Revealing this would compromise the very security we aim to protect.
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