Cypherock
  • Introduction
  • Design Decisions
    • The balance between security and convenience
    • Cypherock X1 Hardware architecture
      • Using ultrasonic welding for the X1 Vault enclosure
      • Encrypted NFC communication for X1 cards
      • Using Javacards instead of MicroSD
      • Choosing USB vs QR Code
      • Why the X1 cards are not upgradeable
    • Cypherock is BIP39 compliant
    • Private keys should be near to impossible to extract
    • Conflict between trusted parties should not result in unauthorized access
    • Using Shamir Secret Sharing vs. Multi-sig
      • How is Shamir Secret Sharing implemented within Cypherock X1
      • Why Cypherock has a default 2/5 threshold scheme
      • Rejected Key Schemes
    • PIN Protection on Cypherock X1
      • Difference between backing up your PIN vs. Seed Phrase
  • Security Overview
    • Introduction
    • Keylabs - Third Party Security Audit
    • Remote Attacks
    • Physical Attacks
      • $5 Wrench Attack
      • PIN Brute Force Attack
      • Evil Maid Attack
      • Flashing Malicious Firmware
      • Side Channel Attack
      • Supply Chain Attack
  • Cypherock X1 Features
    • Eliminate messy paper backups
    • Open source with secure elements
    • Use Cypherock as a seed phrase vault
    • All-in-one Portfolio Manager
  • Getting Started
    • Download cySync
    • Import Seed Phrase from existing BIP39 compatible wallet
    • Generate a new wallet with Cypherock X1
    • How Cypherock generates your 24-word seed phrase
    • Best practices in keeping your X1 cards secure
      • Use the protective card sleeves
      • Geographical Seperation
      • Choosing your guardians
    • How do I know I am not locked-in to using only Cypherock X1
    • How do I know my Cypherock X1 is genuine?
      • Email 2FA for Product Authentication
    • How to recover your Crypto assets in the case of loss or theft
    • What happens to my Cypherock X1 if Cypherock goes out of business?
Powered by GitBook
On this page

Was this helpful?

  1. Design Decisions
  2. Cypherock X1 Hardware architecture

Why the X1 cards are not upgradeable

PreviousChoosing USB vs QR CodeNextCypherock is BIP39 compliant

Last updated 1 year ago

Was this helpful?

Upgradability allows Cypherock to improve the overall wallet experience by adding newer features and bug fixes. Cypherock has two major hardware pieces, alongside a companion software application as part of the Cypherock X1 -> the X1 Vault, 4 X1 Cards, and cySync desktop application respectively. At present, the X1 Vault code as well as the cySync desktop application code is open source and available on the for public verifiability.

Blockchains are increasingly going to be decentralized and trustless over time. But at the end of the day, people still have to trust their wallet provider today to operate in the web3 space. There is a non-zero possibility that there is a malicious engineer working for your favourite web3 wallet that pushed a malicious software update which in turn takes away your private keys from your wallet. Here is a reported about the same.

As a first step towards making wallets more trustless over time, Cypherock X1 cards have been designed to be unupgradable while ensuring that your Cypherock X1 is able to support new coins and features over time. It is important to recall that the Crypto private keys of the wallet are never stored in a singular place with Cypherock X1. The keys are cryptographically split into 5 Cryptographic parts and stored physically on the X1 Vault and the 4 X1 Cards. This ensures that hypothetically even if there is a malicious developer inside Cypherock, they will never be able to compromise the X1 cards remotely giving users a much stronger security model for their Crypto assets.

Cypherock Github
potential instance