TL;DR
Trezor confirmed that three Safe 5 wallets bought through CryptoBilis contained an implant designed to copy recovery words and other information shown on the screen. The company says firmware 2.13.1 blocks the implants it has identified, but cannot secure a wallet backup captured before installation; no affected customer has reported losing funds.
Trezor confirmed on November 12 that three of its Safe 5 hardware wallets, all bought through former reseller CryptoBilis, contained an added circuit board designed to copy information displayed on the device screen. The company says its November 11 firmware update, version 2.13.1, stops the implants it has found from capturing data on updated devices, but cannot protect recovery words that may have been copied before installation.
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According to Trezor’s investigation, the implant is a small extra circuit board between the Safe 5’s main board and screen. When recovery words appear during wallet setup or restoration, the board copies what is displayed. Trezor says it can also capture a passphrase if that information appears on the screen. The company described the implant’s behavior as: “It only listens.”
Trezor says the implant encrypts captured information and sends it over a mobile network to a server controlled by the attackers. If it cannot connect, it retains the data and tries again later, according to the company’s analysis. Trezor says its examination found that the device’s firmware and Secure Element, a dedicated security chip, were not changed by the implant. These details come from Trezor’s investigation; the company has not publicly identified who made or installed the boards.
The three confirmed devices were purchased between August 20 and September 23, 2026, through CryptoBilis’s Tokopedia and Shopee stores and directly from the reseller, Trezor said. The company said it has received reports from 48 CryptoBilis customers and is checking their devices. As of its November 12 account, no owner of the three confirmed devices had reported losing funds. Trezor also said it found no evidence of tampering in other devices it checked, including devices from other regional resellers.
The Limits of a Firmware Fix
The case highlights a limitation of a software update after a hardware device may have been physically altered: a fix can block future collection, but it cannot make information already copied disappear. If a recovery phrase was captured, updating the device does not invalidate that phrase. Anyone who still controls funds using a potentially exposed backup may need to move them to a wallet created with a new seed.
That distinction matters because a recovery phrase can give control over the assets associated with a wallet. Trezor advises CryptoBilis buyers to move funds to a new wallet with a new seed. The company’s statement that no losses have been reported is a status update, not proof that no data was captured or that there is no remaining risk. It also does not establish whether the attackers accessed or used any information the implants may have transmitted.
The affected count Trezor has confirmed is three individual Safe 5 devices, not three different wallet models. Firmware 2.13.1 is available for the Safe 7, Safe 5, Safe 3 and Model T, according to Trezor’s changelog. The scope of the confirmed hardware finding and the scope of the software update should not be confused: the update covers multiple models, while the three implants identified so far were found in Safe 5 devices.
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How CryptoBilis Entered the Case
The investigation followed reports involving another hardware-wallet maker. Trezor says Ledger began investigating customer fund losses linked to devices bought from CryptoBilis on October 9, 2026, and later confirmed physical tampering in some of those devices. Ledger’s October 15 statement called the incident “an attack on the distribution channel after the devices left our control.” That describes Ledger’s case; it does not establish that the same people were behind the Trezor implants.
CryptoBilis was also an authorized Trezor reseller. Trezor says it removed the reseller from its network on October 9. On October 28, a Trezor customer in Indonesia reported an extra board in a Safe 5 bought from CryptoBilis through Tokopedia. Trezor said it treated the report as credible and warned customers on October 30, before its lab had confirmed the hardware finding.
In its November 12 update, Trezor said its lab had examined the reported device and that owners had provided photos identifying two additional implanted Safe 5s. The company said checks of other devices it had examined, including products from other resellers in the region, had found no signs of tampering. It is working with SEAL 911, an emergency response service operated by the Security Alliance, according to its account.
““The update can’t protect a wallet backup that was captured before it.””
— Trezor
What Investigators Have Not Established
Trezor has confirmed three implanted Safe 5 devices, but its account does not establish how many other devices, if any, may have been altered. The 48 customers who came forward are being checked; the company has not said that all 48 devices have completed inspection. Its finding of no tampering in devices it checked is limited to those inspections and does not resolve the status of every CryptoBilis sale.
The company has not publicly identified the attackers, explained how the boards were installed, or said whether it has confirmed that data from an implant reached the attackers’ server. It also has not reported evidence that the captured information was used to take funds. No customer losses have been reported in connection with the three confirmed devices, according to Trezor, but that does not determine whether recovery information was copied.
The company says version 2.13.1 stops the implants it has found from capturing data on devices running the update. Its public account does not specify whether that protection addresses every possible hardware modification. The key practical uncertainty for buyers is whether their particular device was tampered with and whether any recovery phrase shown on it was captured.
Device Checks and Wallet Migration
Trezor says it is checking devices reported by CryptoBilis customers and working with SEAL 911. Buyers should follow the company’s guidance to update supported devices to firmware 2.13.1 and, if they bought through CryptoBilis, treat the recovery phrase as potentially exposed and move funds to a wallet with a new seed. An update alone cannot replace a compromised backup.
The next useful public developments would be the results of the remaining device checks, any updated count of confirmed tampering, and clarification about whether investigators found evidence that captured data was transmitted or used. Until Trezor provides those details, the confirmed scope remains three Safe 5 devices, with no losses reported by their owners in the company’s November 12 update.
Key Questions
What did Trezor find in the Safe 5 wallets?
Trezor says three Safe 5 devices bought through CryptoBilis contained an extra circuit board between the main board and screen. The board copied information displayed on the screen, including recovery words when shown.
What does firmware 2.13.1 do?
Trezor says version 2.13.1, released November 11, 2026, stops the implants it has found from capturing data on devices running the update. The update is listed for the Safe 7, Safe 5, Safe 3 and Model T.
Can the update protect a recovery phrase that was already displayed?
No. Trezor says the update cannot protect a backup captured before installation. The company advises CryptoBilis buyers to move funds to a new wallet with a new seed.
Have owners reported losing funds?
Trezor said on November 12 that no owner of the three confirmed devices had reported losing funds. It has not said that this proves no recovery information was captured or transmitted.
How many CryptoBilis devices are confirmed to have implants?
Trezor has confirmed three individual Safe 5 devices. It said 48 CryptoBilis customers had come forward and their devices were being checked; that figure is not a count of confirmed implants.
Source: Thorsten Meyer AI
