🍻Recovering BTC from a dead Android via Mycelium🍻
(Read the full story above)
A friend of mine Jason Gan, of MicroSolderingSupply.com has recently helped recover over $7,000 worth of BTC off a dead Android phone.
This story is one we all know, with an ending we all hope for. Someone forgetting to backup a wallet or lost the recovery and something happens... Like the device brakes or gets stolen.
Jason Gan is a trusted data recovery specialist in the repair community. What he found while trying to recover a customers lost bitcoin is haunting.
Mycelium (spoiler alert) doesn't encrypt the private key in recovery. This means any rooted Android device with a Mycelium wallet is vulnerable to being hacked. Wether it be by malicious 3rd party apps asking for permission to read data.files that could contain unencrypted private keys. Or, selling a phone that was factory reset. Even a novice tech can recover data from a factory reset device.
For example: if you have a Mycelium wallet on your Android device now, factory reset it, smash it, and sell it to Jason Gan... He could recover the data wiped by the factory reset and by removing 1 chip, recover the Mycelium wallet private key. Giving him access to the Bitcoin in the wallet. 😲
The lesson: Buy a freaking hardware wallet! 🍻
Seriously though, be careful. Selling a used, factory reset device, even broken is a new era risk factor. From nudes to keys, nothing private is secure.
Also if you need help recovering Crypto keys or photos, contact Jason Gan via MicroSolderingSupply.com
This story gave me mixed emotions. I was happy Jason was able to help recover lost Crypto. But, the double edge to this sword is hackers can exploit this just as easily. Please comment below with your own thoughts.
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To, @kennethbosak
Great info!
Wow, your friend is a genius. I hope I don’t have to hire him ever. I definitely won’t buy refurbished or used phone, ever thanks to your post.
There will be some good money to be made if Data Recovery Centers start promoting lost/damaged wallet recovery.
good info post ilke this post @alalahamed345
Buy iPhone problem fixed 😜
Or, if your the customer, a problem created. double edge conundrum
Nice post brother. I like all you post. That's so amazing. Good luck.
Cool story @kennethbosak. I heard you share it on This Week in Bitcoin with @bitcoinmeister too. Very helpful info. Cheers.
Wow, nice!
Someone stole my Macbook laptop July-2011. I was mining bitcoin at that time after numerous attempts. To be honest, at that time I didn't know what I was doing. I did not backup my private key. I don't think that the person who stole my laptop knows about Bitcoin at that time. After that I was busy with my life and workup into Bitcoin world in 2017. Since than I am buying Bitcoin and holding it. My only regret is now that, why I didn't woke up earlier. I followed the news about Bitcoin but never thought about buying... :-)
I hope someone found the private key from my stolen laptop and got rich! Otherwise, those bitcoins are lost forever!
Yes its "vulnerable" but c'mon. How many LEET hackers are looking to exploit old android handsets with a possibility of recovering BTC? Same goes for paper wallet sweeps. I swept a wallet like ten times, scanning the private keys with no issues. We are in an infancy of technology with an infinitesimal amount of attention of hackers. ICO's and exchanges are way bigger fish to fry than a dude with .3230 bitcoin in a wallet on his android... just sayin
Kenn, you stated “nothing private is secure”. I’ll add that nothing secured is private, for long anyway.