Hardware Wallets and Social Engineering: New Security Standards in the Fight Against Crypto Attacks

Social Engineering as the Biggest Threat

The majority of crypto exploits are not caused by technical vulnerabilities, but by human error, security experts warn. "Attackers don't break in, they're invited in," explained Nick Percoco, Chief Security Officer of crypto exchange Kraken ^[2]. From January to December 2025, the crypto industry recorded over $3.4 billion in thefts according to Chainalysis data, with the Bybit attack in February alone accounting for nearly half of this amount ^[2].

In the Bybit attack, attackers gained access through social engineering and injected a malicious JavaScript payload that allowed them to manipulate transaction details and redirect funds ^[2]. In addition to digital attacks, Jameson Lopp, Bitcoin OG and cypherpunk, documented at least 65 cases of physical attacks on crypto holders in 2025 ^[2].

Hardware Wallets Set New Standards

Parallel to the growing threat landscape, hardware wallet technology continues to evolve. The Trezor Safe 7 positions itself as a premium device with an aluminum unibody case, glass back, Gorilla Glass 3 display protection, and IP67 certification against dust and water ^[1]. With dimensions of 75.4 × 44.5 × 8.3 millimeters and weighing 45 grams, the device remains compact ^[1].

The Safe 7 features a 2.5-inch color touchscreen with 520 × 380 pixels, up to 700 nits brightness, and haptic feedback ^[1]. This particularly facilitates checking long addresses and navigating through settings. The device offers both Bluetooth and USB-C connectivity on Android, while iOS exclusively supports Bluetooth ^[1]. Additionally, Qi2 wireless charging enables cable-free charging ^[1].

Multi-Layered Security Concepts

From a security perspective, Trezor employs a multi-layered approach with the Safe 7, featuring the TROPIC01 as a secure element described as transparent and auditable ^[1]. Setup is performed through the Trezor Suite app, which is available on both mobile and desktop platforms. The device supports 12-, 20-, or 24-word backups as well as an Advanced Multi-Share Backup ^[1]. After ten incorrect PIN entries, the wallet automatically wipes itself ^[1].

Recommendations from Security Experts

To defend against future attacks, experts recommend several measures. Percoco advises automating security mechanisms and emphasizes: "The future of crypto security will be shaped by smarter identity verification and AI-powered threat detection. We are entering an era where systems can detect abnormal behavior before the user or even trained security analysts realize something is wrong" ^[2].

Lisa, Security Operations Lead at SlowMist, recommends that developers lock dependency versions, verify package integrity, isolate build environments, and review updates before deployment ^[2]. Steven Walbroehl, Co-Founder and CTO of Halborn, predicts an increasing role of AI-powered social engineering and proposes cryptographic proof-of-personhood procedures for critical communications ^[2].

David Schwed, former Chief Information Security Officer at Robinhood, emphasizes the importance of fundamental security practices: different passwords for different accounts, hardware tokens for multi-factor authentication, and secure offline storage of seed phrases ^[2].