Due to a single misprint in the code of crypto currency, hackers stole $ 680,000

The administration of crypto currency Zcoin announced that the only misprint in the system code allowed unknown attackers to earn $ 437,000. Details of the operation Zcoin described in the blog.

Zcoin is a crypto currency, similar to bitcoins, running on the Zerocoin protocol. According to the creators of the currency, unlike bitcoins, it allows you to completely anonymize transactions without leaving a history of payments. The administration of the system discovered a bug in the implementation of Zerocoin: the only typographical error in the code symbol allowed the attacker to deduce money from the same transaction many times.

The administration emphasizes that the bug is connected with human error, and not with a critical error in the cryptography system itself. The kidnappers, whose identity is not yet established, stole about 370,000 in Zcoin currency - the equivalent of $ 680,000. Most of the currency hackers have already sold, remaining at a profit of 410 bitcoins or $ 437,000.

Attackers managed to avoid the attention of the administration for weeks: all payments and payment reviews were slow. "From what we know, the hacker or hackers are very smart, and took a lot of precautions to hide the traces, generating a lot of dummy accounts," the company explains.

Recall, in early February, the bitcoin course in one moment sank for a hundred dollars: from $ 1,050 to $ 948, a little later, having played several positions. The reason for such a sharp fall was the actions of the National Bank of China (NBK).