Security Researchers Attack McAfee-Backed Wallet for “Unhackable” Claims

Security Researchers Attack McAfee-Backed Wallet for “Unhackable” Claims

With the vast amounts of money going around, it’s no surprise that the greater Bitcoin ecosystem is rife with scams, hacks and cyber attacks of all kinds. Operating in such an environment, cautious users are always mindful of their security and learn to avoid outrageous claims that are sometimes nothing more than just that. A recently released wallet was said to be “unhackable” by its promoters, including John McAfee, and this has naturally triggered security researchers.

Also Read: Football Team in Gibraltar to Pay Its Players in Cryptocurrency

“Unhackable” Bifti Wallet

Security Researchers Attack McAfee-Backed Wallet for “Unhackable” ClaimsWhen the Bitfi hardware wallet was unveiled in June, its official promotional material called it the “first truly unhackable” wallet, promising “impenetrable security” and an operation “without any risk of loss”. It was also said to offer more security than any other type of storage, including cold storage.

Vouching for the device being indeed “unhackable”, which Bitfi acknowledged is an extremely bold claim, was John McAfee. “Of all today’s elaborate and sophisticated methods for making wallets secure and easy to use, surely none is as epic as that of the new Bitfi wallet. Several of my competitors have pioneered innovative methods to protect private keys, but Bitfi pulled out all the stops to ensure that the private key can never be obtained by illicit means. No other hardware wallet has ever been built to this level of sophistication,” McAfee is quoted as saying.

This level of sophisticated security was supposedly achieved primarily by utilizing a proprietary open-source algorithm that calculates the private key from a user’s own unique secret phrase. “The private key only exists for a fraction of a second, just long enough to approve the transaction and is never stored anywhere.” And the developers added that: “Unlike other wallets, the Bitfi wallet cannot be tampered with. If it is ever lost, stolen, taken apart and forensically analyzed, the private keys cannot be retrieved, making the wallet safe to purchase from anyone within the network of authorized distribution dealers.”

Checking Under the Hood

Security Researchers Attack McAfee-Backed Wallet for “Unhackable” ClaimsInitial reviews were very unkind to Bitfi, with one security researcher stating: “my conclusion is that their product is most charitably described as a ‘footgun’,” meaning a device designed for shooting yourself in the foot. McAfee, which is known for being a shill in the crypto community but has credibility to lose in the cyber security space as an anti-virus pioneer, shoot back by labeling critics as “haters” and negative reviews as “fake” because they were based on Bitfi documentation rather than examining the actual device. Moreover, he challenged anyone to hack the wallet and receive a $100,000 bounty.

So security researchers have now gotten their hands on the device and are tearing it apart trying to answer the hacking challenge. And they already discovered a few interesting things. According to their collaborative efforts, it seems that the hardware of the wallet is basically that of a Chinese mobile phone (Mediatek MT6580) minus the camera and SIM card. And the firmware includes a Baidu GPS/WIFI tracker, a malware suite (Adups FOTA), and a tracker capable of logging all activity on the device.

Can any system claim to be truly “Unhackable”? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Bifti.

Verify and track bitcoin cash transactions on our BCH Block Explorer, the best of its kind anywhere in the world. Also, keep up with your holdings, BCH and other coins, on our market charts at Satoshi Pulse, another original and free service from Bitcoin.com.

The post Security Researchers Attack McAfee-Backed Wallet for “Unhackable” Claims appeared first on Bitcoin News.



from Bitcoin News https://ift.tt/2OyYjIo

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

L2 Crypto Project Blast Achieves $660M TVL Amid Mockery for Key Developer Recruitment

Image
Recent data reveals that Blast, the new layer two (L2) blockchain platform, has amassed a significant $660 million in value within its decentralized finance (defi) protocol. Concurrently, while accumulating a variety of crypto assets, the initiative has commenced a search for experienced senior blockchain developers. While Amassing $660M, L2 Blast Project Searches for Developers In recent times, Blast has emerged as a focal point of interest. This project, conceptualized by Pacman , the mind behind the non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace Blur, has rapidly gained traction. Within a span of less than a week, the platform’s total value locked (TVL) soared to approximately $400 million. Concurrently, Blast faced allegations of resembling a Ponzi scheme. During this period, Paradigm, a principal investor in the project, admitted that the team had overstepped in certain aspects of communication and implementation. Pacman has also countered the Ponzi scheme allegations and further cl
Read more

Harsh Laws Make Bitcoin Holders Consider Renunciation or Dual Citizenship

Image
As digital currencies become a mainstay in society, a great number of governments have enforced strict tax guidelines, severe money transmission rules, and tough regulations. Because of a few nation-states’ harsh rules against cryptos, there are individuals who plan to renounce their citizenship in order to become stateless. Some people will also attempt to get double-citizenship, as both of these acts may help sovereign individuals avoid government intrusion and theft. Also Read: As FATF Regulations Galvanize, Crypto Mixing Applications Are Targeted A Cryptocurrency Advocate’s Quest for Financial Sovereignty May Involve Hard Choices It’s been close to 11 years since the inception of Bitcoin and during the last few years government agencies and law enforcement have been cracking down on digital currency holders. In certain areas around the world, a few countries have extremely difficult crypto laws and stringent capital gains taxes. Countries like the U.S. have imposed strict regul
Read more

2021 Bitcoin Price Predictions: Analysts Forecast BTC Values Will Range Between Zero to $600K

Image
As bitcoin has touched new price highs on Thursday nearing the $50k handle, people have been curious as to where the price will go in the future. Meanwhile, despite the gains so far, a number of luminaries, analysts, executives, and proponents from the crypto space believe the leading crypto asset will reach between $60k to six-digits this year. Mike Novogratz Predicts $100K Bitcoin: ‘Other CFOs and CEOs Are Saying, What Should We Be Doing?’ Satoshi Nakamoto’s invention has gained mass appeal in recent times as the leading digital asset bitcoin ( BTC ) has reached its highest value ever in 2021. On Thursday morning (EST), BTC spiked to an all-time high (ATH) at $48,697 per unit. Earlier in the morning at around 2 a.m., bitcoin was exchanging hands for $44,485 and saw an 8.98% increase since then. At the time of publication, at 6:30 p.m. (EST) on February 11, 2021, bitcoin (BTC) is swapping for $47,821 per coin. With BTC so close to the $50k mark, people have been forecasting
Read more