Bugs Affecting Most Devices Raised Fear About Hardware Wallets
The security of hardware wallets may be compromised due to the vulnerability caused by 2 newly emerged bugs.
Researchers have released a report on two hardware failures that allowed important data to be stolen on devices affected by programs and that it could affect most devices worldwide.
For cryptocurrency users, these errors are a direct threat to the security of their private keys.. More software security is needed in storing cryptocurrencies.
What Are These Hardware Faults?
Two bugs known as Meltdown and Specter exploit vulnerabilities in Intel, AMD and ARM processors. These bugs can affect all devices, including desktop computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones.
In BBC reports, meltdown affects all devices with Intel processors, which is estimated to be in 90% of computers.
Spectre has a wider footprint potentially affecting Intel, ARM and AMD processors on all types of devices. Meltdown and Specter also work in cloud systems.
The BBC report also stated that the tech industry has kept the threat secret for six months with disclosure agreements.. However, there are currently concerns that public awareness may explode in real life.
Your Money is Protected
Bitcoin’s co-developer Jonas Schnelli drew attention to how the new reported security flaws could affect Bitcoin users.
Jonas Schnelli:
The current privileged memory side channel attacks just confirms what many Bitcoin users already “know” (feel):
* Don’t trust your PC.
* Don’t think applications (and private keys) are shielded
* Use a hardware walletBackground:https://t.co/0avUWC44oyhttps://t.co/pw0cLDWyZe
— Jonas Schnelli (@_jonasschnelli_) January 4, 2018
I think many bitcoin users are already familiar with the current memory attacks:
* Don’t trust your PC.
* Applications (and private keys) Don’t think it’s protected
* A hardware device Use zdan
Pavol Rusnak, CTO of TREZOR manufacturer SatoshiLabs, tweeted on January 4th to confirm that their device was not affected by Meltdown and Specter:
As more people are asking: @TREZOR is not vulnerable to recent Meltdown and Specter hardware attacks, because it has processor not affected by these. Also our firmware is always signed, so the device never runs untrusted code. Using a hw wallet is now more important than ever!
— Pavol Rusnak (@pavolrusnak) January 4, 2018
Pavol Rusnak:
Many are asking: TREZOR(Bitcoin wallet) is not vulnerable to recent Meltdown and Specter hardware attacks because our processors are not affected by them. Also, our device always uses signed software, so the device will never run untrusted code. Hardware wallet usage is now more important than ever!
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