[2017-11-22] A Hacker Warning for Bitcoin

[bbc.reporter]

Articles like these that are written by oblivious columnists should be taken down from Bloomberg. He is essentially saying that hacks that happened on a centralized system like Tether can also happen in bitcoin.

What is he trying to do? Scare everyone or is he that ignorant about proof of work and the blockchain?

Here is the author's Twitter account if some of you want to send him a message.

https://twitter.com/LionelRALaurent



Saying Bitcoin is un-hackable is of small comfort to those who've lost money through cracks in its ecosystem of exchanges, intermediaries and money-raising schemes.The latest theft in cryptoland is a reminder that the promise of security and liquidity is only that -- a promise. This isn't a systemic shock in the same league as the Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange collapse, but it's a warning that transparency and trust are rare commodities in this world.

But the Tether raid shouldn't be dismissed.It's one example of how quickly a cryptocurrency's glitzy promise of instant liquidity and top-flight security can be shattered. Tether is a Top-20 digital currency, which built its name on combining both cryptographic security and real-world monetary value.Every Tether is supposed to be backed "1-to-1" by a corresponding hard currency, meaning that crypto exchanges and traders can trade it as a U.S. dollar proxy, safe in the knowledge that it will always be redeemable if the need arises. The "best of both worlds," as Tether put it.

Read in full https://www.bloomberg.com/gadfly/articles/2017-11-21/hackers-have-lots-of-ways-to-ruin-a-bitcoin-trader-s-day

[iamTom123]

What is so clear to all of us is that Bitcoin in itself can not be hacked since the blockchain system is so strong for that and this is in fact why we have the blockchain to make things hack-proof. Now, having said that, what can be hackable are the wallet service providers and even the many exchanges operating online. Once they can get in into these sites then they can take your Bitcoin and transfer it elsewhere. This is the kind of risk always present when we are dealing with things online. Hackers, phishers, blackhatters, scammers these people are just all around us waiting for an opportunity to pounce on anyone exhibiting some weakness. Unfortunately, we could not easily do away with these people as they are also very creative and sometimes always ahead of the game. We have to be careful at all times.

[patt0]

I don't really think that the tether hack should work as warning for bitcoin users and investors. I'm not going to talk about if investing in bitcoin is risky, neither if it is a bubble or not, but it just has nothing to do with tether. For me tether has flaws since the beginning and I would not put my money into it.

To start, I think tether is dead right from the start. There is no way that the US Government will let a third party company issue a crypto currency that is backed by it's fiat currency. Tether wants to mimic US dollar, and eventually the US government will say that is illegal, and that only banks can do that (specially now that there are countries that are issuing it's own versions of a cryptocurrency, that will of course be backed by banks and not any other kind of private companies)
So for me, investing in tether was always a bad option. Tether is also centralized, so it's of course vulnerable to hacks, like the one we saw recently.

Where does this all relate to bitcoin? Honestly I don't know. Of course that any crisis top crypcoins suffer, affect bitcoin somehow, because it affects peoples trust. We did saw it's price go down to $7800, but it recover just as fast, because bitcoin is does not share tether flaws.

As for hacks, I don't think the blockchain itself can be hacked, but we can lose our coins if we keep them on centralized exchanges, or if our pc wallets get attacked, but again that is not a bitcoin problem, is a problem with all the other systems that are still not up to bitcoin security.

[greeklogos]

What is so clear to all of us is that Bitcoin in itself can not be hacked since the blockchain system is so strong for that and this is in fact why we have the blockchain to make things hack-proof.

Quantum computers era is coming and bitcoin's code is going to be copied and decoded with it's help, but for now Bitcoin can not to be hacked itself, yes.

Now, having said that, what can be hackable are the wallet service providers and even the many exchanges operating online. Once they can get in into these sites then they can take your Bitcoin and transfer it elsewhere. This is the kind of risk always present when we are dealing with things online. Hackers, phishers, blackhatters, scammers these people are just all around us waiting for an opportunity to pounce on anyone exhibiting some weakness. Unfortunately, we could not easily do away with these people as they are also very creative and sometimes always ahead of the game. We have to be careful at all times. 

That's right. We are surrounded by hackers and scammers, that's why we all should to take all necessary methods to protect ourselves, such us do not follow any doubtful links and to use antivirus on our personal comps.

[Hexah]

Bitcoin will stand for this one and nevertheless a warning is just a warning until it isn't done, but let just wait for an upcoming happenings if this warning will be a big blast to the world of blockchain so that we can say that bitcoin is really hackable. Fake news spreading in every corner so let's always be aware that anything we see, read and hear aren't always true. Beware!

[1Referee]

We are surrounded by hackers and scammers, that's why we all should to take all necessary methods to protect ourselves, such us do not follow any doubtful links and to use antivirus on our personal comps.

Nothing seems to be safe anymore. Even antivirus solutions can't protect you from any malicious attacks. It has happened a few times already where legitimate software has been messed with, and people download and install it while their antivirus doesn't see anything of dangerous nature. Very recently the CCleaner hack shows how we all are exposed to these risks, even when our systems and antivirus is up to date. It was downloaded and installed by millions of people in quite a short period of time, and if researchers didn't notice anything, people till this day would still be running it. It once again shows that the only right way of storing our coins is to use a hardware wallet.

[buwaytress]

Quantum computers era is coming and bitcoin's code is going to be copied and decoded with it's help, but for now Bitcoin can not to be hacked itself, yes.

Actually, I'm really curious to know which actual Bitcoin developer ever said that Bitcoin cannot be hacked. I think the only message I can ever recall coming across is that the method used to secure the network makes it practically impossible or economically unviable for anyone to attempt a hack - with current means at disposal.

Of course, no tech is unhackable, just as no tech is unachievable given unlimited resources. Surely the network will look to improve on security over time, along with other issues that must always advance, such as scalability.

On the article itself, happy to know that Bloomberg analysts still don't see how the Tether hack is not the same as a Bitcoin hack. Gives me hope that FUD can keep Bitcoin's price slow and steady, a pace I'm happy with.

[matuson]

To crack the code of bitcoin is impossible. But most users of bitcoin, become victims of hackers at their own mistake. Each person opens the door to hackers to your purse. Quantum computers don't scare me because they can't only come from hackers. Bitcoin will always be out of reach.

[MoonJeina]

Thinking analytically , it is quite difficult actually very difficult to hack bitcoin . Bitcoin has got many such claims in the past that it can be hacked easily and i have not seen such example in my knowledge where such claims were actually proved . The wallet security , especially the offline wallets and the cold storage wallets are so bullet proof ( in context to hacking) that it is not a very easy task to get access of them .
But we cannot take such  things lightly as there are many hackers out there who are doing there best efforts to get their hands on bitcoin . To be on the safer sides do not collect too many bitcoin and withdraw the, after regular intervals.