The sunlight of the tropics. Securing cryptos is a subject that should not be neglected. It is clear that exchange platforms are not infallible. Thus, experience shows that a hardware wallet is a highly recommended accessory for keep your cryptocurrencies safe. But you still have to be able to trust the manufacturer and its equipment! This is where Trezor makes the difference with the first ultra-secure and open source chip manufactured by its subsidiary Tropic Square. We explain everything to you! Le Journal du Coin offers you this promotional article in collaboration with Trezor.
Trezor, security in focus
Pavol Rusnak, Marek Palatinus, and Alena Vránová joined forces in 2013 to implement secure cryptocurrency storage solutions. Together they created SatoshiLabs. Following a successful fundraising, they were able to develop and market their first hardware wallet: the Trezor Model One. The company then experienced resounding success with several wallet models. For over 12 years, the Czech company has remained a reference in security in the storage of digital assets. During these years, the team continually tested all the components they assembled within their hardware portfolios, such as chips. This is how, while seeking to optimize security, Trezor developers discovered vulnerabilities. Unfortunately, for confidentiality reasons imposed by their suppliers, they were not authorized to disclose the details. A completely unacceptable situation to which the company decided to react radically by creating the first “open source” chip.
The birth of Tropic Square: maximum security through transparency
Indeed, when you buy a product such as a hardware wallet to store your cryptocurrencies, we do trust in a company and its certifications. But why aren’t security certifications enough? To put it simply, the entities which issue these certifications organize batteries of tests, but on predefined situations. This is the same as the principle of engine approval in the automobile industry. The framework is fixed, we have to get into it. Therefore, anything outside of this framework is never examined. And it is in these blind spots that hackers uncover vulnerabilities.
Determined to go even further in terms of transparency and securityconfronted with limits linked to opaque devices, Trezor therefore founded Tropic Square. In their own words, security can only be maximum if transparency is also maximum. A huge challenge, because device protection is not limited to simple crypto wallets. It concerns all connected devices. With the exponential growth of these products, opportunities are increasing for hackers. And it is in this context that the TROPIC01 chip was developed.
Tropic Square has developed the first open source security chip!
TROPIC01: the open source chip to ensure the security of hardware wallets
TROPIC01 is the flagship product developed by the Tropic Square teams. There chip was designed to overcome the inadequacies and opaqueness of the industrial ecosystem which monopolized the manufacturing of security components. She is open sourceand anyone can examine its operation and verify that no flaws exist. For Tropic Square and Jan Pleskac, security is a process that requires constant checks and improvements :
“We encourage independent researchers, academics and engineers to test our chips, compromise them if they can, and push us to continually improve. Each exploit attempt speeds up patching, strengthens defenses, and makes hardware more robust. Because security is not a simple static certificate. It is a living process. A process that must evolve as quickly as the threats themselves. » Jan Pleskac, CEO and co-founder of Tropic Square.
The company has notably integrated the TROPIC01 chip in the latest hardware wallet model, the Trezor Safe 7. Tropic Square's flagship product doesn't stop at this app, as it can also secure other items such as decentralized infrastructures or connected devices such as telephones. The applications of such a product are extremely numerous. Trezor and Tropic Square therefore rely on transparency and continuous improvement to offer maximum security. With the TROPIC01 chip, open source and auditable by everyone, Tropic Square deploys a security strategy adapted to current and future threats. This philosophy is also reminiscent of that of Bitcoin, where trust is based on the code, rather than on a central entity.