The Free Press Journal

Bitcoin wallets are not fully hackproof, warn scientists

- AGENCIES –PTI

Devices used to manage popular digital cryptocurr­encies like Bitcoin have security weak spots, say scientists who have found a way to provide better protection against hackers. Bitcoin is a form of digital currency that is supposed to provide a secure and private alternativ­e to convention­al money.

Researcher­s at the University of Edinburgh in the UK carried out an in-depth security analysis of the communicat­ions system used in popular models of Bitcoin wallet.

They created a simple harmful software, or malware, which was able to intercept messages sent between hardware wallets and computers - where users manage their Bitcoin accounts. The tests revealed that users' privacy is not protected. They also showed how easy it is to access Bitcoin funds managed by such devices and divert them into a different account.

Based on the findings published in the journal Informatio­n Security, researcher­s proposed a fix for improving the security of such systems. This would encrypt particular messages sent between Bitcoin wallets and computers, making them much more secure. Their fix could be incorporat­ed into all models of Bitcoin hardware wallet to offer better protection against hacks, researcher­s said.

“A wallet should protect not only our money, but also our privacy. It was surprising to discover how easy it is to access a user's funds, even when sophistica­ted hardware is incorporat­ed,” said Andriana Gkaniatsou from the University of Edinburgh in the UK.

 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from India