Tag Archive for: Bitcoin

Quantum Computers Could Crack Bitcoin Security by the 2030s

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Today, the Bitcoin network’s security, using a cryptographic algorithm called SHA-256, would be insurmountable for a computer as we know it to crack. But quantum computing may change that within the next decade. Scientists at the University of Sussex now estimate that quantum computers are likely to become powerful enough to crack the security that protects Bitcoins sometime in the next decade. New Scientist first reported on the study.

Bitcoin is based on a blockchain, essentially a ledger of who owns what, protected by the SHA-256 algorithm. If you could crack the key revealed during Bitcoin transactions, you could change ownership of a Bitcoin. The Sussex scientists, led by Mark Webber, explain that every Bitcoin transaction is assigned a cryptographic key, which is vulnerable for a finite time, which might vary from 10 minutes to an hour, to a day.

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New BHUNT Malware Targets Cryptocurrency Wallets via Software Installs – Bitcoin News

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bhunt

Bitdefender, a cybersecurity and antivirus company, has detected BHUNT, a new kind of malware that targets cryptocurrency wallets via software installs. The malware works on top of installs of unsecured or cracked software, that already comes packaged with the system to be deployed on desktop environments. Once installed, the software extracts passphrases and seeds from popular wallets.

BHUNT Malware Spotted in the Wild

Bitdefender, a leading cybersecurity firm, has issued a report regarding a new kind of password stealer that focuses on cryptocurrency wallets users have on their PCs. BHUNT, as this new malware is called, enters computers through infected software installs, mostly of cracked software. According to the technical document issued on the software, BHUNT attacks Exodus, Electrum, Atomic, Jaxx, Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Litecoin wallets. Once installed, the software can transfer the funds of the users to another wallet, and also steal other private data residing in the infected computer.

Password stealers are not new to the PC sector, as computers can already be infected by various viruses that also have these capabilities. What is special about this software is that its presence is heavily encrypted and it is packaged as digitally signed software, but the issued certificate does not match with the binary of the program.


Infection and Prevention

Bitdefender concluded that BHUNT was released in the wild with no clear target by the way it has spread. On how the software spread, Bitdefender’s report states:

All our telemetry originated from home users who are more likely to have cryptocurrency wallet software installed on their systems. This target group is also more likely to install cracks for operating system software, which we suspect is the main infection source.

The company indicated the level of infections detected on a map, and the countries with the most infections presented were Australia, Egypt, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Norway, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, and the U.S.

Bitdefender also issued recommendations to avoid being infected with BHUNT or with other, similar password-stealing malware. “The most effective way to…

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Best bitcoin and crypto wallets for January 2022

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Prices go up and down, but bitcoin is here to stay. Sooner or later, you’re going to need a place to store yours as cryptocurrency continues its march toward the mainstream and becomes more entwined with the global economy. So if you’re looking to invest in bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency, you should consider a crypto wallet. 

“Wallet” is a metaphor, given that we’re talking about digital currency. As a secure place to store your proof of ownership, a cryptocurrency wallet can take the form of physical hardware or software installed on your computer or smartphone or in the cloud. Well-known services like Robinhood, PayPal and Venmo allow you to buy bitcoin and other cryptocurrency quickly and with little technical know-how. Most of these online services, and their integrated cryptocurrency wallets, are “custodial,” however, which means you’re trusting the company to secure, protect and hold your cryptocurrency. Ultimately, they have control — and your crypto is in their proverbial hands. 


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Crypto wallets explained



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As such, unless you’re making a daily crypto transaction or have only a modest amount of money involved, we recommend you not store your cryptocurrency in an exchange account. The best practice is to invest in a hardware wallet for offline storage. The next best choice is a “noncustodial” software wallet or wallet app, which give you more control over your digital assets. We’ll look at both here in our quest to…

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Quantum hackers can bring down Bitcoin: expert

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(MENAFN– Asia Times)

NEW YORK – $3 trillion of cryptocurrency assets are, or soon will be, vulnerable to hacking by quantum computers, one of China’s top cryptographers told an Asia Times webinar on November 30.

You won’t know if it’s happening until it’s too late, Professor Jintao Ding of Tsinghua University explained. And the best thing about hacking Bitcoin, he explained, is that it isn’t against the law.

Crypto analysts have worried about the quantum invasion for some time. Motley Fool’s Zhiyuan Sun wrote in September,“The rise of quantum computing may soon give governments a means to crack down on Bitcoin and other types of cryptocurrencies… Governments could potentially decrypt digital currencies or launch hash attacks to take over their network for a regulatory shutdown with these machines.”

“Most governments like Bitcoin as much as we like walking with rocks in our shoes,” Sun added. No government dislikes Bitcoin as much as China, which banned onshore trading of cryptocurrencies in 2019 and forbade Chinese from trading on offshore crypto exchanges last September.

“Our modern information system relies completely on public key cryptography, including Bitcoin,” Ding told the“Data Wars” webinar, co-sponsored by the American Affairs journal and Asia Times.“If we have a quantum computer, our Zoom would be finished, and everything actually—the whole information system, because our fundamental security solution relies on it.”

Public key cryptography based on the RSA standard has been in use since the late 1970s. Each user has a public key for purposes of identification, and a private key—a password—for decryption.

The public key is based on two very large prime numbers, which are secret; only the recipient knows the prime numbers, which are required to decrypt the message. Factoring extremely large numbers into primes, decrypting the private key requires factoring extremely large numbers into primes, something that takes supercomputers a very long time to do.




Quantum cryptography is the science of exploiting quantum mechanical properties to perform cryptographic tasks. Photo: Facebook

As computers get faster,…

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