Open-Source Hardware
Open-source hardware means the device's schematics and board layout are published, so anyone can review or rebuild the design.
What Is a Open-Source Hardware?
Open-source hardware goes beyond open firmware: the vendor publishes schematics, board layouts and parts lists. Trezor, for example, publishes the hardware designs of its devices.
Published designs let researchers check that the board matches what the vendor claims, that there is no undocumented radio or memory, and help spot tampered or counterfeit units. They do not open the inside of a secure element: the chip's own design and firmware usually remain under the chip maker's non-disclosure terms.
Open hardware and open firmware are separate claims, and reviews should name which one a device actually offers.
Open Source Firmware refers to firmware in hardware devices, like wallets, where the source code is publicly available, allowing transparency, auditability, and customization.
Read full definitionTrezor is a hardware wallet by SatoshiLabs. It stores private keys offline to secure cryptocurrencies.
Read full definitionA secure element is a tamper-resistant chip built to store secrets and resist physical attacks such as side-channel analysis and fault injection.
Read full definitionFirmware is the software that runs on a hardware wallet itself: it generates keys, shows transaction details on the screen and signs.
Read full definitionReal-World Examples
Example 1: A researcher compares a retail device's board with the published layout to check for added components.
Example 2: A wallet advertised as "open source" publishes its firmware but not its board design, so its hardware cannot be reviewed the same way.
Firmware is the software that runs on a hardware wallet itself: it generates keys, shows transaction details on the screen and signs.
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