How easy BTC could be susceptible to computer security threats?

[user210822]

Can you give me a few hints on what to look for on the topic?

[Hatchy]

There are many types of computer security attacks that could harm your Bitcoin. That's why it's important to keep your Bitcoin in cold storage, offline, to protect it from these dangers. Using hardware wallets or airgapped devices is the best way to avoid these attacks. Some of the threats include phishing attacks, malware, Trojans, and damaged hardware. though alot of persons may not consider damaged hardware as an attack but yes it is. Some cryptocurrency wallets store private keys in wallet.dat files. If your device gets damaged or you lose access to it without having backed up the wallet.dat file, you could indeed lose access to your coins, which is also a computer security threat.

[BitMaxz]

There are lots of possible threats already mentioned above but you can avoid them and protect your wallet from any of these threats.
One possible solution is to protect your PC with Antivirus, Avoid accessing random sites that could lead to phishing attacks, also be careful installing random software into your PC.

The best way to protect the Bitcoin wallet is to install it into an offline device and never connect it to the internet or you can use tails OS because all possible threats are online so if you run your bitcoin wallet into a device that you never connect to the internet you are far safe from these attacks.

[Upgrade00]

Bitcoin does not have a security flaw which makes it susceptible to risks and attacks. What can happen is you as a user can have breaches in your device which exposes your personal wallet to risks, this is not a breach on the Bitcoin Network.

Protect your device from external threats by;
• Not clicking on untrusted links,
• No downloading random, unverified apps,
• Only use non custodian, open source and reputable wallets,
• Do not give third party access to your wallets,
• Use an airpagged device or hardware wallet.

[user210822]

Could recent 'ordinals' congestion be considered as an attack to blockchain? If so, how easy is it to upload a virus into blockchain itself?

[DesmondHayes]

Could recent 'ordinals' congestion be considered as an attack to blockchain? If so, how easy is it to upload a virus into blockchain itself?

The recent "ordinals" congestion might be like an attack if it's deliberately slowing down the blockchain, but it's very hard to put a virus directly into the blockchain itself. However, viruses could still target individual users or computers connected to the blockchain.

[Medusah]

Security is a complex field my friend.  What would you say is your background in security?  Do you have an idea on how to protect your computer's files, accounts, etc?  In any case of that, I would read Lopp's guides on security:  https://www.lopp.net/bitcoin-information/security.html. 

Could recent 'ordinals' congestion be considered as an attack to blockchain? If so, how easy is it to upload a virus into blockchain itself?

If you consider "congestion" an attack, then every transaction is attacking the network. 

[Z-tight]

Could recent 'ordinals' congestion be considered as an attack to blockchain? If so, how easy is it to upload a virus into blockchain itself?

The blockchain is just a public ledger where BTC tx's are stored, every mined block containing all confirmed tx's right from the start of the network is stored in the blockchain. Take note that the blockchain does not contain BTC's in itself or anything that you can steal, that is why it is open and anyone can download their own copy.

Ordinals is not an attack on BTC's security, but it can be called an 'attack' on BTC's use as a currency, because it makes tx fees to rise, making it impossible for people to use BTC as a currency.

[NeuroticFish]

Bitcoin does not have a security flaw which makes it susceptible to risks and attacks. What can happen is you as a user can have breaches in your device which exposes your personal wallet to risks, this is not a breach on the Bitcoin Network.

Protect your device from external threats by;
• Not clicking on untrusted links,
• No downloading random, unverified apps,
• Only use non custodian, open source and reputable wallets,
• Do not give third party access to your wallets,
• Use an airpagged device or hardware wallet.

Great list! I will add: keep the seed words offline, safely, without any chance for others to get access to them; the seed has to never touch a device that will ever go online. Keeping the seed as copies in multiple geographically distinct places is also a good idea.

[Upgrade00]

Great list! I will add: keep the seed words offline, safely, without any chance for others to get access to them; the seed has to never touch a device that will ever go online. Keeping the seed as copies in multiple geographically distinct places is also a good idea.

That's a very useful tip which everyone should adopt. I also think all wallets should disable the option to take screenshots of seedphrases, so users know to write it down and not just store it in an electronic form.

Keeping copies in different geographical location is a good failsafe, but this should only be done if you can assure the security in all the locations. Better to have one point of failure which you can adequately protect except against a natural disaster, than having multiple back ups that are not secured.

[user210822]

Security is a complex field my friend.  What would you say is your background in security?  Do you have an idea on how to protect your computer's files, accounts, etc?  In any case of that, I would read Lopp's guides on security:  https://www.lopp.net/bitcoin-information/security.html.  

Could recent 'ordinals' congestion be considered as an attack to blockchain? If so, how easy is it to upload a virus into blockchain itself?

If you consider "congestion" an attack, then every transaction is attacking the network.  

I would describe my security experience as a complete noob. Zero knowledge on coding. Very careful approach to OS selection. In a sense to hold on Linux mostly. But whenever I hear "my friend" from a complete stranger I shrug in an attempt to avoid being used. In your case you may call me "complete paranoid" in security terms. And Blockchain use could vary in a huge limits. Same like use fiat for growing flowers in a backyard instead of funding REALLY BAD people or vice versa. One of the examples given here.

[Z-tight]

I would describe my security experience as a complete noob. Zero knowledge on coding.

You don't have to be a coder to secure your assets from attackers.

In your case you may call me "complete paranoid" in security terms.

It is not bad to be paranoid in this case, it would help you to verify everything and pay good attention to your security. Take note that you should start with basic security practices, i.e. choosing recommended wallets, making sure you run it offline and also having a good opsec, this will surely help you keep your funds safe as you get better in security and also privacy.

[WatChe]

Bitcoin does not have a security flaw which makes it susceptible to risks and attacks. What can happen is you as a user can have breaches in your device which exposes your personal wallet to risks, this is not a breach on the Bitcoin Network.

Protect your device from external threats by;
• Not clicking on untrusted links,
• No downloading random, unverified apps,
• Only use non custodian, open source and reputable wallets,
• Do not give third party access to your wallets,
• Use an airpagged device or hardware wallet.

If you have upgraded your cell phone then it's better to place your wallet on old cell phone which is no more required and keep it offline. This way you can have an air gaped device with zero investment.

Great list! I will add: keep the seed words offline, safely, without any chance for others to get access to them; the seed has to never touch a device that will ever go online. Keeping the seed as copies in multiple geographically distinct places is also a good idea.

Your seed is your wallet. Lost your seed, lost your coins. There is no way to recover your coins in case your seed is compromised or lose your seed. We can say that's one limitation of Bitcoin but we have to keep that aspect in our mind while designing the security architecture of our Bitcoins. 

[Medusah]

I would describe my security experience as a complete noob.

Then you should look for a hardware wallet.  It is a device that holds your keys, instead of your computer.  Passport is my most recommended one, because it is airgapped and operated by Seth For Privacy, a very respected and competent individual.  But, there are cheaper and more popular alternatives like Trezor.  If you are paranoid, then you should stick with airgapped solutions like Passport. 

(Think of airgapped as a device that never connects to the Internet)

[NotATether]

Could recent 'ordinals' congestion be considered as an attack to blockchain? If so, how easy is it to upload a virus into blockchain itself?

Ordinals are basically spam but the vast majority are not harmful to your computer security. First you'd need to inscribe an ordinal containing a malicious program (like .EXE) into a block, and then you can only get infected via a vulnerability in a custom tool that somebody would create to parse Ordinals.

[NeuroticFish]

If you have upgraded your cell phone then it's better to place your wallet on old cell phone which is no more required and keep it offline. This way you can have an air gaped device with zero investment.

Using old phone as cold storage is not a new idea, I've been eyeing it too in the past. And I got convinced that the minuses of such an approach are worthy to be taken into account, hence I've abandoned the idea. Maybe it worth reading this topic: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5377997

Your seed is your wallet. Lost your seed, lost your coins. There is no way to recover your coins in case your seed is compromised or lose your seed. We can say that's one limitation of Bitcoin

It's not a limitation or bug. It's a feature/it's by design: without this you don't have proper trustless self custody for your money.

[Upgrade00]

If you have upgraded your cell phone then it's better to place your wallet on old cell phone which is no more required and keep it offline. This way you can have an air gaped device with zero investment.

You would have to know exactly what you're doing before going with a DIY approach of an airgapped device. This includes generating your seedphrase completely offline and never letting your private keys online even when signing transactions.

If you know what you're doing, it's a good approach, but definitely not 'zero' investments. You are dedicating a device entirely for your storage, and hardware wallets are not comparatively more expensive than cheap mobile devices.

[WatChe]

You would have to know exactly what you're doing before going with a DIY approach of an airgapped device. This includes generating your seedphrase completely offline and never letting your private keys online even when signing transactions.

If you know what you're doing, it's a good approach, but definitely not 'zero' investments. You are dedicating a device entirely for your storage, and hardware wallets are not comparatively more expensive than cheap mobile devices.

It's important to understand the importance of seed and private keys only then you can define a strategy about how to secure them. Mostly we don't take the security of seed and private key seriously unless we meet with some accident. The sooner we realise the importance of security in Bitcoin the better it is.

Using old phone as cold storage is not a new idea, I've been eyeing it too in the past. And I got convinced that the minuses of such an approach are worthy to be taken into account, hence I've abandoned the idea. Maybe it worth reading this topic: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5377997

The thread is no doubt worth reading and most of replies are against the use of mobile phone. There are many thing worth noticing in that thread but the best one I find is from o_e_l_e_o (Hope he is doing good.)
If there is no precautionary measure in your electornic device then don't blame the hacker, blame yourself.

As they said --air-gapped smartphones are much safer than the air-gapped PC which are vulnerable to hacking, did you know that even fully air-gapped PC can exfiltrate information through the output radio signals generated by the computer or call ^{[electromagnetism]}.

If someone knows enough about your set up to make you a target for such an attack, can gain access to your airgapped computer, bypassing all physical and all electronic protections you have in place in order to install the necessary malware to start transmitting your private keys via modulating electrical signals in various internal components, as well as bugging your house with the necessary hardware in order to pick up and transmit those signals, then every single wallet you own is at risk (not to mention literally everything that you own). Such attacks are almost entirely theoretical.

I keep seeing people telling that phones are hard to airgap and.. sorry, but I'm not convinced.

I will never trust a software airgap (i.e. a phone with airplane mode turned on or WiFi turned off) as much as I will trust a hardware airgap (i.e. a computer with no WiFi card). It is almost trivial to open up a computer and remove the WiFi card, ethernet card, etc., while it is almost impossible to remove the antenna, WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC, RFID, etc. from your average smart phone without breaking it in the process. And how does the average person verify that airplane mode is doing what you want it to be doing. Even the NSA have admitted they can still track phones which are in airplane mode, so your phone must still be sending and receiving some data.

[Smartprofit]

In my opinion, it is impossible to completely eliminate the risk of hacker attacks.  
However, you can significantly minimize the risk of successful attacks from criminals.  Your goal is to create a system to safely store and use your Bitcoins.  
This system should be as good as possible for your level of technical competence.  By creating unnecessarily complex security, you risk that you yourself will make some kind of mistake that will lead to loss of money.  The general principles of creating such a secure Bitcoin storage system are that your funds should be stored in different places (storage diversification) so that one mistake or successful hacker attack does not deprive you of all your capital.  Also, special attention should be paid to complete control over private keys (seeds).  
Hardware wallets are more secure for storing Bitcoin than smartphones, and smartphones are more secure for storing Bitcoin than laptops and desktops.

[WatChe]

In my opinion, it is impossible to completely eliminate the risk of hacker attacks.  
However, you can significantly minimize the risk of successful attacks from criminals.  Your goal is to create a system to safely store and use your Bitcoins.  
This system should be as good as possible for your level of technical competence.  By creating unnecessarily complex security, you risk that you yourself will make some kind of mistake that will lead to loss of money.  The general principles of creating such a secure Bitcoin storage system are that your funds should be stored in different places (storage diversification) so that one mistake or successful hacker attack does not deprive you of all your capital.  Also, special attention should be paid to complete control over private keys (seeds).  
Hardware wallets are more secure for storing Bitcoin than smartphones, and smartphones are more secure for storing Bitcoin than laptops and desktops.

This is right that security should not go to an extent that you yourself feel uncomfortable in accessing them. There are few simple things we have to do to secure our Bitcoins. As far as seed security is concerned there is no way better to secure it but to write it on piece of paper. Seed security is first and foremost step in security of Bitcoin. If you have funds then go for Hardware wallets but if you are sticking with mobile make sure it's hardened enough to secure your Bitcoins.