Page 10 - Feb 2014
P. 10
RESEARCH, ANALYSIS & TRENDS
Will malware and wallet theft
slow-down the Bitcoin drive?
which is required for each Bitcoin transaction besides
having a Bitcoin wallet. Users can have as many ad-
dresses as they like and use them to send and receive
Bitcoins. To help manage their transactions, Bitcoin
users rely on the Bitcoin wallet that holds a piece of
data called a “private key,” used as proof that the trans-
actions come from the wallet’s owner. This key or sig-
nature prevents any transaction from being altered.
But whoever believes that’s a bulletproofed concept is
wrong as there will be always fraudsters at work when
it comes to money. And the fact that Bitcoins slowly has
become a legitimate currency obviously spurs the inter-
est of cybercriminals, especially since Bitcoin-mining
malware can make them easy money. Besides, Bitcoin-
Bitcoins are around now for five years, just recently hav- related threats are not limited to malware only. Trend
ing gained mass media attention – not for the right rea- Micro, for instance, identified a phishing page imitating
sons –- but for criminal activities and theft. If the launch the popular Bitcoin exchange site MtGox to detour the
of the world’s first Bitcoin ATM has been astonishing a virtual money into their pockets. Smart Protection Net-
few months back, attacks from unknown hackers started work revealed, for instance, that globally more than
to spread fear and trepidation now. 12,000 PCs had been affected by Bitcoin-mining mal-
th
ware in the 4 quarter of 2013 alone, which is quite a
Allegedly, two Bitcoin exchanges already face problems number.
that caused them to temporarily halt withdrawals by cus-
tomers who stored Bitcoins in digital wallets provided by Therefore, securing and protecting your Bitcoin wallet,
the exchange. But as the Bitcoin Foundation empha- if you have one, should have top priority and here are
sized, cause for alarm are currently mainly denial-of- some tips:
service (DoS) attacks that do not steal people's Bitcoin
wallets or funds per se, but enabling perpetrators to
succeed in preventing transactions from confirming. Choose online services carefully. Bitcoin trans-
Nevertheless, Bitcoins could gain a wider acceptance in actions are irreversible so only deal with reputable
the next months, although prices noticeably vary from and trusted service providers. Since the Bitcoin
one exchange to another and have gone down due to system does not make use of financial institu-
the recent incidents. tions, no central authority is necessary to control
the coins.
Considered as online cash, the virtual currency uses Regularly back up your Bitcoin wallet. Storing a
peer-to-peer (P2P) networks to track and verify transac- copy allows you to recover your wallet in case of
tions. Take a look at the infographic that explains the computer errors and real-world incidents (device
development. theft or loss).
Encrypt your Bitcoin wallet. Encryption adds an-
Bitcoins are generated or “mined” after processing a so- other layer of security to your Bitcoin wallet and
called “block” of data, a cryptographic problem or puzzle helps prevent it from being stolen.
a user’s computer solves that generally requires a lot of Regularly update your Bitcoin software. Up-
computing power. However, users who may not have dates can fix technical or security glitches you may
the necessary resource can simply purchase or sell have and give you more new features.
Bitcoins from Bitcoin exchange sites, over-the-counter Keep smaller amounts of Bitcoins for everyday
exchange establishments, or engage in in-person trad- use and store the rest in a secure environment.
ing.
Users can opt to create an offline wallet or cold
storage to keep their Bitcoins safe.
The entire Bitcoin network relies on a shared public Choose the multi-signature feature if possible.
ledger called the “block chain” that contains every This feature requires more than one private signa-
Bitcoin or similar digital currency transaction ever pro-
cessed. The validity of transactions made is verified ture in order for a transaction to proceed.
here via the digital signatures of users’ Bitcoin address, Don’t forget to regularly scan your system with
anti-malware solutions.
10 Asian eMarketing February 2014 - Security & Privacy Protection
