EAL5+, EAL6+, EAL7 Explained — What These Security Levels Mean for Your Crypto Wallet

Hey, it’s Lanzo 👋
If you’ve been shopping for a hardware wallet, you’ve probably seen the terms EAL5+, EAL6+, or EAL7 thrown around.
But what do these actually mean — and why do they matter for your crypto security?

In this guide, you’ll learn:

• What EAL (Evaluation Assurance Level) means
• The difference between EAL5+, EAL6+, and EAL7
• How these certifications are tested and awarded
• Which crypto wallets use them
• Why higher certification ≠ automatic safety
• How to choose the right wallet for your needs
• What future standards might look like

Let’s decode the science behind your wallet’s “secure chip” 👇

What Does EAL Mean? 🧠

EAL stands for Evaluation Assurance Level — a part of the Common Criteria (CC) global standard for information security (ISO/IEC 15408).
It’s a way to measure how rigorously a product’s security has been tested.

Think of it like crash-testing for wallets:

• EAL1 = basic check (“does it work?”)
• EAL7 = full-blown deep security audit with mathematical proofs

Each higher level adds more testing, documentation, and verification — proving that the system resists both physical and software attacks.

How Common Criteria Works 🧩

The Common Criteria (CC) framework was developed by security agencies from the U.S., EU, and others to standardize global assurance testing.
Every wallet, chip, or secure product that claims “EAL5+ certified” must pass testing at accredited labs and get certified by a national authority.

In crypto wallets, CC certification applies mostly to the Secure Element (SE) chip — the tamper-resistant hardware that stores your private keys.

Related: What Are Private Keys & Seed Phrases?

EAL Levels at a Glance 🔍

“+” means the evaluation includes additional robustness or attack testing beyond the base level.

EAL5+ — The Current Industry Standard 🛡️

Most mainstream hardware wallets like Ledger Nano X, Ledger Stax, and Trezor Safe 3 use EAL5+ secure elements.
This means their chips have been validated to resist invasive and non-invasive attacks, including fault injection and side-channel analysis.

These wallets use chips like ST33K1M5 or similar, which are proven secure in banking and payment cards.

Pros:
✅ Strong physical protection
✅ Recognized across industries
✅ Efficient, affordable, proven standard

Cons:
⚠️ Still potentially vulnerable to nation-state or lab-grade attackers
⚠️ Certification applies only to the chip, not the whole wallet firmware

EAL6+ — Enterprise-Grade Security 🧰

EAL6+ builds on EAL5+ by requiring more formal design verification, better documentation, and broader attack simulations.

In practice, some wallets and smartcard solutions use EAL6+ secure elements in combination with other measures like firmware signatures or dual-chip designs.

You’ll find EAL6+ mainly in:

• Government ID cards
• Banking-grade smartcards
• Biometric systems

While not common in consumer crypto wallets yet, a few enterprise custody providers are experimenting with it in multi-sig vaults.

Related: Social Engineering Attacks in Crypto (Explained)

EAL7 — The Highest Possible Level 🚀

EAL7 is the top of the hierarchy — the most rigorous certification level under Common Criteria.

It requires formal mathematical proofs of every security mechanism.
The process can take years and costs millions to complete.

Only a few hardware devices globally have ever achieved it.
In crypto, the standout is the NGRAVE ZERO, certified EAL7 for its Secure Element — sometimes marketed as CL7 chip.

This chip meets the same testing criteria used for nuclear, aerospace, and military systems.

Key properties:

• Fully offline (air-gapped)
• Biometric protection (fingerprint verification)
• EAL7 certified Secure Element (CL7)
• Designed and tested in Belgium under EU cyber standards

What “+” Means in EAL5+ or EAL6+ 🧮

That little “+” matters. It means the product underwent additional security tests beyond the base level.
Typically, “+” includes attack resistance evaluations, such as:

• Side-channel attack analysis
• Fault injection
• Environmental tampering (heat, radiation, etc.)
• Micro-probing attempts on chip layers

So “EAL5+” can often outperform plain “EAL6” — depending on which protections were tested.

Certification Myths Busted 🔍

“Higher EAL means unhackable.”
❌ False — it means better tested, not impossible to break.

“The whole wallet is certified.”
❌ Usually only the chip is certified — firmware and UX aren’t covered.

“EAL7 is mandatory for safety.”
❌ For most users, EAL5+ is already more than enough protection if combined with strong security habits.

“Certification lasts forever.”
❌ It reflects security at the time of testing; new exploits can still emerge.

Why These Levels Matter for Crypto Users 🔐

Crypto wallets don’t just store money — they store your identity and freedom.
That’s why you want devices built with tamper-proof secure elements, verified by independent labs.

A higher EAL level means the wallet is tested for more attack vectors, which is especially relevant for long-term holders and high-value investors.

For everyday users, EAL5+ wallets like Ledger Nano X or Ledger Stax are more than secure enough.
For institutional or paranoid-level security, EAL7 (NGRAVE) sets a new standard.

How to Choose the Right Wallet for You 🎯

TL;DR 📌

• EAL = Evaluation Assurance Level, a global standard for testing security.
• EAL5+ = secure enough for banking & hardware wallets.
• EAL6+ = adds formal verification and deeper testing.
• EAL7 = highest possible, includes mathematical proof.
• Higher level ≠ unhackable — but shows stronger testing discipline.
• Your habits (offline backups, seed storage) matter more than any chip.

Start Protecting Your Crypto with Certified Security 🔒

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