Topic: Bitcoin is a magnet for hackers and crooks (Read 7771 times)

RSantana: I don't understand; why are you keeping your wallet on your server? Shouldn't it be kept on a different machine? As a retailer, you only need to collect payment except for the occasional refund (which you can do manually), which means your wallet doesn't have to be on the server at all, right? Or am I missing something here? I thought only exchanges like Mt.Gox that have to pay Bitcoins out in addition to accepting them had to worry that much about security, because they have to actually have a wallet file on a machine connected to the server. I mean, a hacker could still put up a fake BTC address on your site if it got compromised, but that's not the same degree of problem as losing your whole wallet...

"Pangolin".  That was it.

He's almost certainly using a program that does all that stuff automatically for him.  I've seen the same pattern of attacks myself.  If you look in the logs closely, you'll see the same word coming up over and over.  Google it - it's the name of the hacking tool he's using.

That's what I found, anyway.  I don't remember the name now though sorry.

I've had a couple of ideas for bitcoin sites that I haven't bothered doing because I don't want the hassle.

Of course, I've had similar ideas for non-bitcoin sites too, and I usually don't bother with them either, because of the hassles that come with other payment systems.

This is why mt advice is if you cant code for shit dont go bringing out bitcoin sites.

One bitcoin would be enough. You could probably even do it with a half a bitcoin

so, how many bitcoins would be enough?

'Crooks' are already using existing payment methods to move multi millions in laundered funds they don't need bitcoin. They need fake ID, social engineering and some socks proxies. There isn't enough bitcoins in the world to satisfy the daily laundering requirements of a typical mexican cartel or even most nigerian scams

I goes both ways. Sure, you're still a victim, but on the flip side, you should secure your site.  And that goes for any site, not just a bitcoin-related site.

If you don't want to be a victim, secure you site.

Just going off-topic here and injecting a bit of levity, but did anyone notice that if you spoonerise "hackers and crooks" you get:

"Bitcoin is a magnet for crack and hookers"

I wonder how the security at Silk Road is?

Wait...
So, according to you, being the victim of a crime depends on whether you were engaging in business? If my personal car gets stolen, I'm a victim, but if it's my function car while I'm working, I'm responsible for being robbed? If a woman is raped, she's a victim, unless it was a prostitute during her business, then she's responsible for being raped?

Please. Of course people would better be prudent and protect themselves from criminals, but your notion of ethics is completely twisted if you really believe "business are not victims". Being the victim or the responsible of a crime has absolutely nothing to do with whether you were engaging in business, pleasure or whatever.


It's not "my website". But it is a good example. Why should they even care about spending money on a high schooler to have a decent site? All they want is to deliver sandwiches and meals. The only reason they've probably done a site at all was because they work in a "geek area", and have many clients that prefer ordering by clicking instead of using the phone.
They don't really care about having a good, secure site, and it's fine enough for them, as long as they keep delivering good meals at an affordable price.
But that's only because they don't accept bitcoin (or any other digital means of payment, for that matter). If they ever consider the possibility, their site will be completely rapped by the crooks OP talks about. So, summarizing, OP has a point. The high level of "cyberviolence" we are submitted to (and also the fact we can't even try to punish these hackers as we may do with meatspace criminals) makes life harder for honest people, unfortunately.

But maybe a better comparison would be to compare the level of security needed to safely maintain a bitcoin wallet in a site, and the level of security needed to safely store credit card numbers. I have no idea which kind of site is more attacked.

riiiiiiight.

A victim is not expected to be armed or prepared.
A business is.

The audacity of businesses thinking they are victims amazes me. Don't leave the safe open and don't fail to use a time lock.
You are responsible for the safety of your business.


Sometimes you can. The local restaurant website where I often order my meals is quite lame. I know, for ex., that they don't hash passwords, it's stored as clear text. There are probably other security vulnerabilities. Judging by the web design, they probably had a very limited budget for building that site. If they had to have the level of security a site needs to have to exist safely in the bitcoin world, maybe they wouldn't even have a site at all, or their meals would be more expensive just to account for that.