Can criminals hack Bitcoin? | Cyprus Mail

Bitcoin’s unprecedented rise has been both good news and bad news. The brighter side is that its rise has generated lucrative investment opportunities for investors and businesses worldwide. Bitcoin has also contributed to fast, secure, and low-cost money transfers, greasing the wheels of the global economy. However, Bitcoin’s high value, decentralization, and ease of use make it quite attractive to cybercriminals. So, can be Bitcoin be hacked? And, how can users protect themselves from such threats?

Bitcoin and security 

Bitcoin came into the limelight in 2009, when Satoshi Nakamoto launched it as a decentralized digital currency. That means Bitcoin is not subject to government regulations, political influence, or any central authority, like fiat currencies. Bitcoin should aid peer-to-peer transactions, which means users can freely exchange it or use it to transact worldwide without answering anybody or an entity.

However, security remains a fundamental issue among Bitcoin users since its inception. It’s safe to say that Bitcoin is tough to hack because of the enhanced security provided by its underlying blockchain technology. Blockchain validates and stores all Bitcoin transactions and users’ information on a decentralized ledger, which is very difficult to infiltrate.

Bitcoin network incorporates multiple computers across different geographical locations around the world. Each of those computers, known as nodes, holds a copy of the transaction data, as validated in the blockchain. As a result, a criminal may have to hack all the nodes to alter the data simultaneously. That is almost impossible.

Despite the increased security measures, there are still chances that criminals could breach the network at different stages of transactions.

Bitcoin transactions and wallets 

Bitcoin users store the reserves in Bitcoin wallets. Users can turn those holdings to trade or acquire investments on crypto exchanges such as Bitcoin Billionaire . Security breaches could occur through Bitcoin wallets and also during such transactions. Although developers continuously improve Bitcoin wallet security features, criminals are also constantly looking for vulnerabilities to exploit and…