SPOOKED Justice Department officers fear hackers are poised to pinch a $15 million stash of digital currency from Victorian coffers.
Civil servants have thrown a cloak of secrecy over the status and planned auction of 24,500 bitcoins confiscated from a drug baron, amid concern thieves will steal the booty.
So fearful are authorities of a virtual heist, they’ve secretly awarded a tender for the management and sale of the currency — and refuse to say how much taxpayer money is being spent, or even who won the tender.
Bitcoins are a controversial virtual currency traded anonymously from computer to computer.
Jittery justice staffers have revealed deep concerns about the department’s ability to secure the asset from crooks.
“Due to the nature of bitcoins and the manner in which they are stored, they are vulnerable to hacks and theft, as well as computer viruses,” a staffer wrote in response to a Herald Sun request for information.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/crime-auction-kept-top-secret-as-hackers-circle-15m-bitcoin-sale/news-story/5374dcba64e72b6a07732b498797d41a