Can malware and hacking slow down Bitcoin's mass adoption?

[hatshepsut93]

From time to time people here post their stories how they got their coins stolen and there are many different kinds of attacks - exchange accounts get hacked by taking over mobile phone number, people get infected with clipboard viruses that replace addresses, there are trojans that steal wallet files and passwords, phising sites on google results and so on. And sadly, the common response from community is to blame the victim saying that it's their own fault.
However, it misses one big point - money are supposed to be easy to use in order to get adopted by the masses, and it seems like the entry level for Bitcoin keeps rising - now it's no enough to download a wallet and go to exchange to buy coins - everyone is required to have some knowledge about security, know how to verify SSL of an exchange site, use Linux instead of Windows, get paper wallet (inconvenient for spending), make a cold storage to sign transactions offline (requires a dedicated always offline PC) or spend $100 on a Trezor (which is a pretty big sum for thirld world countries) and many other precautions.
In my mind, this all can be very hard for an average Joe, especially because there's no resource that teaches everything they have to know about security. And the amount of effort for securely using Bitcoin can just discourage some newcomers from starting.

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[OmegaStarScream]

Let's admit it though, If all you're doing is downloading cracked software, bitcoin-generator.exe and visiting pornography sites, how is being infected and getting your funds stolen not your fault exactly? So we're only left with the phishing attempts which could be avoided If someone takes the time to read emails or messages he receive before clicking links and It is as easy as downloading a wallet and go to an exchange to buy coins. The options you mentioned shouldn't be considered unless you're holding large amounts of bitcoins and living in a third world country won't matter If it's the case.

[Don Pedro Dinero]

I think he’s got a point here. Most people aren’t very skilled as far as finance or computers are concerned. In my country most people go to the bank to seek advice from the banker on what they should invest their money on. So, I think until there is a simple and cheap way to store and trade bitcoins mass adoption will go slow. Maybe when trezor or ledger nano get cheaper and more generalized.

[bigmaster23]

it is possible, but if it would be  a long term basis before someone might hacked btc hash seed.

[hatshepsut93]

Let's admit it though, If all you're doing is downloading cracked software, bitcoin-generator.exe and visiting pornography sites, how is being infected and getting your funds stolen not your fault exactly?

That's not the point, the fact that there are so many possible attacks makes it harder to use Bitcoin, and that hurts its potential for mass adoption because average users do download cracked software, click on random links, visit pornography sites, etc. In the future people will be more computer literate so maybe trivial attacks would be less successful, but some new attack might emerge. So, I'm thinking how to address this issue better, like how to make Bitcoin wallets more secure, or how to make antivirus programs detect malware that targets Bitcoin wallets, or how to get more coverage for security on popular Bitcoin resources.

[swogerino]

Bitcoin itself is secure. It is the user and what ways he adopts to safeguard it that can make an impact and can in some cases let hackers steal his bitcoins. Bitcoin is worth a lot of dollars now so attacks against it will only see an increase in number. Malware and hacking will not slow down Bitcoin mass adoption. Users need to learn a lot about bitcoin and what are the best practices to safeguard it in order to not let intruders steal it. I think we need a lot of blogs to write about bitcoin security practices and we need a lot of publicity for that.

[Intel 4004]

Absolutely! People still see Bitcoin as a unsecure technology but in 95% of breaches the cause is the human. A huge adoption is expected in the next years but people should study ways to secure their wallets, password and private keys before starting with criptocurrencies imho...

Nice thread btw 

[darklus123]

Sad to say yes. Its indeed kind a problem. If you are using the native wallets then you better secure it. Make sure to separate  that one from your daily used device. For example you only uses your laptop for your personal used like downloading movies etc and your pc should only be used for transactions.

It may be pricey but you really do have to take it seriously unless you are that careful and confident with your pc security program

[Paecga129]

Malware and hacking can not slow down Bitcoin's mass adoption. If anything, because of the nature of Bitcoin, it'll make it stronger by figuring out ways to defend against such attacks.

[ebliever]

Of course malware and hacking is having a negative impact. The only question is how much.

Part of the solution (if we take for granted that the general population cannot be educated to a high level of proficiency in defending against these attacks) is more robust wallets and exchanges. Wallets and exchanges need to be simple enough to not intimidate or confuse the average Joe, and need to be robust enough to make hacking/phishing/malware exploits very difficult or impossible. Little by little this is happening, but I think we are still only 10-20% of the way there.

[setifien19]

I agree with you (partially) : well these hacking attacks happen occasionally when a gap is found ( this is not exclusively for bitcoin or crypto accounts , it can happen to any online account) but the responsible number one is the owner because he "maybe" has not enough information about sucuring these acc and wallets , though he must take all possible precautions

[megynacuna]

Of course malware and hacking is having a negative impact. The only question is how much.

Part of the solution (if we take for granted that the general population cannot be educated to a high level of proficiency in defending against these attacks) is more robust wallets and exchanges. Wallets and exchanges need to be simple enough to not intimidate or confuse the average Joe, and need to be robust enough to make hacking/phishing/malware exploits very difficult or impossible. Little by little this is happening, but I think we are still only 10-20% of the way there.

I think you've said it all, we just need to give it time for our wallets and Bitcoin in general to evolve over time because currently there are a lo of uneducated to partially educated folks amongst us and some of these technicalities in securing the wallets needs some IT skills which are scarce in major parts of our societies.

[gentlemand]

Unfortunately hacking and malware fucks you after you've gotten into Bitcoin. Only then do you learn a hard lesson in the best security practices. No one thinks of that stuff when they're dreaming of dollar signs.

[plicexas]

Terribly amusing project. Who came up with this?.  I shall analyze.

[AyaYotoko]

I agree, before I invested in bitcoin I read lots of articles first and tips on how to open a wallet, store etc etc. I'm already a technical person but not on the crypto side. But I dont think it will slowdown bitcoin's mass adoption. It's the government and the bank that is slowing down mass adoption. Creating FUDS and blocking bitcoin's power to change the world. Bitcoin/cryptocurrency knowledge will soon be adopted once there's a proper program about it,  of course in order to fulfill that it needs backing from government.

[miyaka26]

The trend of bitcoin begins to colonize the majority of people who have a very little knowledge in terms of the awareness of cyber security that pertains to hackers that's why there are numerous victim going here to seek help but ended up loosing a bunch of btc causing them to drive back to the traditional system of handling money, the Op is correct about this concerns that a user of a crypto needs knowledge to protect their wallets, a computer or phone with internet connection is already vulnerable by these folks even the use of cracked softwares or vpn are just exposing them to the threats of the hackers.

[H1X360]

Security and ease of use will be one of the main adoption factors. Hacking, physical theft as well as a huge amount of scams will continue to stand against the trust of the global population.
It will be an eternal struggle so educating people about the dangers will be crucial for a true worldwide adoption.

[Hazir]

From time to time people here post their stories how they got their coins stolen and there are many different kinds of attacks - exchange accounts get hacked by taking over mobile phone number, people get infected with clipboard viruses that replace addresses, there are trojans that steal wallet files and passwords, phising sites on google results and so on. And sadly, the common response from community is to blame the victim saying that it's their own fault.

Isn't is exactly the same with all kinds of online payment methods? I can hear all the time that people's account get hacked, their money stolen in a process.
Why is hacking online bank account different from hacking online bitcoin wallet? We are talking about online services here, there is no difference.

However, it misses one big point - money are supposed to be easy to use in order to get adopted by the masses, and it seems like the entry level for Bitcoin keeps rising - now it's no enough to download a wallet and go to exchange to buy coins - everyone is required to have some knowledge about security, know how to verify SSL of an exchange site, use Linux instead of Windows, get paper wallet (inconvenient for spending), make a cold storage to sign transactions offline (requires a dedicated always offline PC) or spend $100 on a Trezor (which is a pretty big sum for thirld world countries) and many other precautions.
In my mind, this all can be very hard for an average Joe, especially because there's no resource that teaches everything they have to know about security. And the amount of effort for securely using Bitcoin can just discourage some newcomers from starting.

I think that if you are just responsible and develop good digital hygiene practices it well enough, there is no need to be paranoid - only prepared.
Don't open unknown emails, don't open unknown files - always update OS and browser, use a password manager, 2FA etc.

[hatshepsut93]

From time to time people here post their stories how they got their coins stolen and there are many different kinds of attacks - exchange accounts get hacked by taking over mobile phone number, people get infected with clipboard viruses that replace addresses, there are trojans that steal wallet files and passwords, phising sites on google results and so on. And sadly, the common response from community is to blame the victim saying that it's their own fault.

Isn't is exactly the same with all kinds of online payment methods? I can hear all the time that people's account get hacked, their money stolen in a process.
Why is hacking online bank account different from hacking online bitcoin wallet? We are talking about online services here, there is no difference.

However, it misses one big point - money are supposed to be easy to use in order to get adopted by the masses, and it seems like the entry level for Bitcoin keeps rising - now it's no enough to download a wallet and go to exchange to buy coins - everyone is required to have some knowledge about security, know how to verify SSL of an exchange site, use Linux instead of Windows, get paper wallet (inconvenient for spending), make a cold storage to sign transactions offline (requires a dedicated always offline PC) or spend $100 on a Trezor (which is a pretty big sum for thirld world countries) and many other precautions.
In my mind, this all can be very hard for an average Joe, especially because there's no resource that teaches everything they have to know about security. And the amount of effort for securely using Bitcoin can just discourage some newcomers from starting.

I think that if you are just responsible and develop good digital hygiene practices it well enough, there is no need to be paranoid - only prepared.
Don't open unknown emails, don't open unknown files - always update OS and browser, use a password manager, 2FA etc.

There are really a lot of differences between stealing Bitcoin and stealing money from a bank account online. In many cases banks would be able to return stolen funds if they were spent online by criminals, because usually they buy some digital goods with them, since they can't withdraw without a credit card. In Bitcoin it's hard or near impossible to even track thieves. The next big thing is amounts - if someone will try to steal more than $10,000 from your bank account, it will probably get immediately frozen and you will be contacted by your bank. With Bitcoin you can be robbed of millions of coins and no one will be able to do anything. This is why Bitcoin security is more important - there's no safety net from third party.

It's good to give advices like "don't click on bad links", but hacking attacks will get more and more sophisticated if Bitcoin's adoption will increase. Right now there's really not much point to hack someone - it's hard to make a good profit from a hacked PC, but if everyone will start storing money on their computers, hackers will get really creative. I only hope that wallet and OS developers will be taking measures to improve security, so it won't be super easy to hack an average user.

P.S. This is not some FUD or anti-Bitcoin post, I'm just trying to bring attention to an issue that so often gets dismissed by many Bitcoin users.

[pat4cryptoreal]

For an individual bitcoin investment to be safe it is advisable do proper research about the concept,  it advantages and disadvantages.Meet a consultant for right information else in bitcoin business some one can lose everything within a twinkle of an eyes.