### Brute Force Attacks Brute force attacks on hardware wallets involve attempting to guess the wallet's PIN or recovery seed by systematically trying all possible combinations until the correct one is found. This type of attack can be time-consuming and resource-intensive, but it is a concern if the attacker gains physical access to the hardware wallet. Protection against brute force attacks typically involves implementing countermeasures, such as: - rate limiting the number of PIN or recovery seed entry attempts, - introducing delays between attempts, or - wiping the device after a certain number of failed attempts. Additionally, hardware wallets may have built-in mechanisms to securely store and encrypt the PIN or recovery seed, making it difficult for an attacker to extract the information even if they have physical access to the device. ### Clipboard Hijacking A clipboard attack, also known as clipboard hijacking or clipboard snooping, is a type of cyberattack where an attacker gains unauthorized access to the contents of a user's clipboard. This attack typically occurs when malware or malicious software running on a device monitors and intercepts the data copied to the clipboard, allowing the attacker to view or modify sensitive information such as passwords, wallet addresses, or other confidential data before it is pasted elsewhere. The stolen information can then be used for various malicious purposes like identity theft or fraudulent transactions. ### Evil Maid Attacks Evil maid attacks are a type of physical security attack where an adversary gains unauthorized access to a hardware device, such as a hardware wallet, without the owner's knowledge. The attacker typically targets the device when it is unattended, such as when the owner leaves it in a hotel room. The goal of an evil maid attack is to tamper with the device, either by modifying its firmware or hardware components, in order to compromise its security and gain unauthorized access to sensitive information or perform malicious operations. Protection against evil maid attacks involves implementing countermeasures, such as: - secure boot mechanisms, - tamper-evident features, and - checks to ensures that only trusted firmware is loaded onto the device. ### Novice Covert Channel Attacks A novice covert channel attack refers to a specific type of covert channel attack that exploits unintentional information leakage or communication channels between different components of a system. Unlike more sophisticated covert channel attacks, which may involve complex techniques and advanced knowledge, novice covert channel attacks are typically simpler and can be carried out by individuals with limited expertise in cryptography or system security. These attacks target design flaws or implementation weaknesses, taking advantage of unintended communication paths to extract sensitive information or manipulate the behavior of the system. ### OLED Power Analysis Side-channel Attack The OLED power consumption side-channel vulnerability refers to a specific vulnerability discovered in hardware wallets that use OLED displays. This vulnerability allows an attacker to potentially extract a PIN or [[Seeds, Keys, Transaction Signing#BIP39|BIP39]] [[Mnemonic Seed|mnemonic seed]] by analyzing the power consumption patterns of the display. Christian Reitter, who [discovered the vulnerability in OLED SSD1306-like displays](https://blog.inhq.net/posts/oled-side-channel-status-summary/) states: >[!quote] The side channel is relevant since the security design of this class of devices is built to some degree on the assumption that the display contents are readable by the user, but unreadable to other involved electronics. Reitter shows that power usage analysis can correlate with particular seed words. Protection against this vulnerability typically involves implementing countermeasures, such as: - optimizing the display's power management algorithms, - implementing random noise generation to mask power consumption patterns, or - using alternative display technologies that do not exhibit the same vulnerability.