How safe is your Bitcoin from hackers?

In this age of online and digital reality many of us use online banking, send or store sensitive private data digitally or we use Bitcoin and cryptocurrency to transact. But how safe are we from potential cyber criminals who could access our data or our money?

It turns out we are all vulnerable to attack and theft at any time, especially Bitcoin holders and traders because the internet is so easily exploited. There is a new hacking whizzkid born every other day. Ironically they also use Bitcoin to extort their victims, but that is neither here nor there since thieves use all avenues including fiat for their highway robbery or blackmail, so that is not the issue.

The issue is that the cyber landscape in which we all transact is open to hackers, and despite the advancements of modern technology, we are all as vulnerable to banditry as ever. For example even the topmost secret service in the world, America’s National Security Agency (NSA) was hacked in 2017. That’s the best security agency in the world, and even they were hacked. What does it say about so-called security then? It says a lot. It says that no country, corporation or individual is safe from criminal geniuses. We are all vulnerable.

The NSA apparently developed some spying or hacking tools of their own. All countries spy on each other and try to hack each other all the time, according to Edward Snowden, the famous American NSA staff member who blew the whistle on the crimes of his intelligence agency. They all do it. The cyber war is going on constantly, so there is no such thing as peace on earth and there never will be. That is the truth of life that you learn as you become more informed with age and experience.

The ironic and comic tragedy is that the NSA was hacked and those very same tools of war were stolen from them in 2017. They were never found and subsequently ended up online practically for free to whomever was able to exploit them. And earlier this year, in May 2019, other hackers used those very same cyber hacking tools, called EternalBlue, or RobbinHood, depending on which reports you read and engaged in a ransomware attack on the American city of Baltimore, effectively shutting it down for several days. It jammed up the administrative abilities of the city, preventing the city from engaging in transactions like paying amenities bills or real estate purchases.

Hackers exploited a vulnerability in the city’s online systems that were using older Microsoft Windows platforms. They demanded a ransom to be paid in Bitcoin to return control and it took many days for the city to return to normal. And this was not the first city to be hacked in this way. Earlier Greenville in North Carolina, as well as Atlanta, Georgia in America were hacked in a similar way.

If the topmost security agency in the world, the NSA, can be hacked, and entire cities in the apparently most advanced country in the world, can he hacked, then so can you or I. Obviously Microsoft released a patch immediately after the breach but can you imagine the mayhem that can be caused by this kind of attack? Not everyone manually installs the patch sometimes and these hacking “weapons” – lets call them what they were designed to be – are still out there. If the NSA can’t protect its cities then nobody can.

Similarly other hacking tools were used on the entire Ukraine banking sector in 2017 too, holding them to ransom. It not only puts a damper on the efficiency or safety of our Bitcoin, but it also tarnishes the reputation of Bitcoin when hackers demand it as a means of ransom for their hijack. So not only are all cryptocurrency investors constantly vulnerable, but now Bitcoin is seen as a tool used by criminals. That is the argument used by uninformed outsiders when looking at the cryptocurrency industry unfortunately.

It is, of course, an unfounded accusation because, as I mentioned, criminals will use all and any means they can, to engage in their crimes. Fiat is used far more than crypto, but still the allegation sticks. Beside that though, the more concerning fact is that cryptocurrency investors are hugely at risk of cyber criminals and hackers all the time. As a result it is imperative for us to use the security features available to us, like private keys to your own personal wallet, preferably an offline cold wallet like Nano Ledger, or Trezor, if you have large amounts. Or use two-factor authentication app for your digital wallets and crypto exchange accounts.

Ironically, as we become more advanced, we also become more vulnerable. Some of the biggest thefts in history have been in the just the last few years and they have been cryptocurrency thefts in the form of exchange hacks worth millions of dollars at a time. Mount Gox is the most famous one a few years ago and there have been several more.

Never forget that we are living on a planet at war. The war is going on. You may feel yourself to be living in a peaceful town or country, and locally it may appear peaceful, but your country is at war, wherever you are, as is mine. Today it is a cyber war, a trade war, a currency war, what to speak of a cold war or a hot war. Nations are attacking each other as I write this. And so we need to take precautions to stay safe online and in our ever evolving digital and crypto industries. Your life may depend on it.