“Consumer Spy Tech” and nano-tech enthusiasts may be pleased to hear that an American company called VaultTel has created a cryptocurrency hardware wallet that is accessed via one’s cellphone SIM-tray.
Once inserted in a phone, the device, called the “VaultTel Intellichip card,” communicates with an software app on the phone designed to enable movement of cryptocurrency private key data onto and off of the chip.
Hardware (offline) crypto storage is all well and good provided one stores the device carefully (fireproof, waterproof, theft-proof box?)
But the moment a hardware device starts to communicate with the Internet, considerably risk wades in, and hackers have done their best to exploit hard-to-soft crypto connections.
VaultTel says it seeks to address these risks by including biometric authentication and “military grade” encryption features within the device and related software.
Crypto enthusiasts have joked about “rubber hose decryption,” whereby thugs rob an individual’s crypto by using in-person physical intimidation to make them cough up passwords.
Discretion regarding crypto holdings is, naturally, advised.
While “rubber hose decryption” is still a possibility with the VaultTel device, your fingerprint or retina scan are required to transfer funds from and from it.
As well, VaultTel claims:
“More than that, no spy screen recorder or Trojan can record what is happening on your hardware wallet, as it’s a not using your laptop or system resources.”
The company also claims that the SIM-wallet uses a “geolock” feature meaning crypto can only be transferred when the phone is located within a designated geographic perimeter.
Android users will pay $98 USD and iOS users $131 USD to obtain the device.
Please keep in mind that bugs regularly emerge in even established hardware wallet products and this appears to be a new product and company.
Generally speaking, cryptocurrencies are high-risk investment products and their use and transfer require a high degree of personal competence and responsibility.
Unlike credit card payments and some bank payments, cryptocurrency transfers cannot be reversed without being induced by the receiver.
Hacked crypto is also very hard to recover.