[elcritch]

It's a conundrum. I prefer to have devices that are open to user modification or fixes, but that inherently means bad actors could also readily modify the device. Though even devices locked with DRM can be rooted, so perhaps it's a false sense of security.

It'd be great if one could build on zero knowledge proofs with something like monero that could let you verify the firmware of a device. Or rather, your phone/credit card queries the device with a ZKP (or something), then uses a public blockchain to verify the devices firmware signature chain. A user could possibly then use a "adblock" like software to warn of manufacturers that have been breached, etc.