Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Silk Road 2.0 'Hack' Blamed On Bitcoin Bug, All Funds Stolen
Forbes ^ | February 13, 2014 | Andy Greenberg

Posted on 02/13/2014 7:20:59 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet

The same bug that has plagued several of the biggest players in the Bitcoin economy may have just bitten the Silk Road.

On Thursday, one of the recently-reincarnated drug-selling black market site’s administrators posted a long announcement to the Silk Road 2.0 forums admitting that the site had been hacked by one of its sellers, and its reserve of Bitcoins belonging to both the users and the site itself stolen. The admin, who goes by the name “Defcon,” blamed the same “transaction malleability” bug in the Bitcoin protocol that led to several of the cryptocurrency’s exchanges halting withdrawals in the previous week.

“I am sweating as I write this… I must utter words all too familiar to this scarred community: We have been hacked,” Defcon wrote. “Our initial investigations indicate that a vendor exploited a recently discovered vulnerability in the Bitcoin protocol known as “transaction malleability” to repeatedly withdraw coins from our system until it was completely empty.”(continued)

(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...


TOPICS: Australia/New Zealand; Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Japan
KEYWORDS: australia; bitcoin; bitcoincrime; bitcoinmarket; bitcoinnsa; craigswright; craigwright; crime; cryptocurrency; internet; japan; nakamoto; nsa; nsabitcoin; satoshi; satoshinakamoto; silkroad
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-46 next last
To: PAR35

Our currency is not backed by any metal, much less gold. And the Bundesrepublik Deutschland’s gold doesn’t belong to the United States, it was being stored for safekeeping due to the cold war.


21 posted on 02/13/2014 7:44:22 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet (I will raise $2M for Sarah Palin's next run, what will you do?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: VerySadAmerican

Then stay away from it. It is not all that complicated.


22 posted on 02/13/2014 7:44:39 PM PST by Vermont Lt (If you want to keep your dignity, you can keep it. Period........ Just kidding, you can't keep it.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: cardinal4

The FR doesn’t like competition in the fiat money business. Fiat money backed by nothing but the full faith and credit of a Federal Guvmint run by a liberal slug bureaucracy. And governed by the Obama Junta

What Really Backs the U.S. Dollar? ...

Jun 28, 2009 - This is where you get the saying that U.S. dollars are backed by the “full faith and credit” of the U.S. government. In other words, Nixon implied ...


23 posted on 02/13/2014 7:45:08 PM PST by dennisw (The first principle is to find out who you are then you can achieve anything -- Buddhist monk)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: VerySadAmerican

I googled it, too. I still don’t get it. It sounds like something for me to stay away from..


24 posted on 02/13/2014 7:46:42 PM PST by cardinal4
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: Errant

That’s some serious coin.


25 posted on 02/13/2014 7:47:25 PM PST by Lurkina.n.Learnin (This is not just stupid, we're talking Democrat stupid here.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: freerepublicchat
Yeah, isn't it odd?

Yep, one even committed "suicide" by nail gun. What's the statistics on that? Most are just flying off of buildings though...

26 posted on 02/13/2014 7:48:12 PM PST by Errant (Surround yourself with intelligent and industrious people who help and support each other.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: Lurkina.n.Learnin

Yep, almost three million in US fiat.


27 posted on 02/13/2014 7:49:43 PM PST by Errant (Surround yourself with intelligent and industrious people who help and support each other.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

No accident, obviously a planned assault.


28 posted on 02/13/2014 7:50:22 PM PST by Caipirabob (Communists... Socialists... Democrats...Traitors... Who can tell the difference?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Vermont Lt

I intend to stay away from it.


29 posted on 02/13/2014 7:54:32 PM PST by VerySadAmerican (".....Barrack, and the horse Mohammed rode in on.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: babygene
What do you want to bet that the NSA was involved in this...

I'll bet you all the bitcoin's in China the NSA was absolutely involved in it. Can't have the USA's faux currency being undermined you know!

30 posted on 02/13/2014 7:57:07 PM PST by usconservative (When The Ballot Box No Longer Counts, The Ammunition Box Does. (What's In Your Ammo Box?))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet
Crypto software and protocols should only be created by one of those quirky geniuses that have the gift.

Someone like Whitfield Diffie.

There ain't many of them and amateurs create all sorts of havoc when they fancy themselves able to work with crypto.

If you live in California and would like to meet Whitfield then just attend the lectures at the Computer History Museum...he nearly always attends.

31 posted on 02/13/2014 8:11:11 PM PST by Bobalu (Happiness is a fast ISR)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

didn’t this happen a month ago or something?


32 posted on 02/13/2014 8:20:36 PM PST by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

That’s what the Germans thought until they tried to get it back. Or at least look at it to make sure it was there.


33 posted on 02/13/2014 8:21:59 PM PST by PAR35
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies]

To: cardinal4
...but what is backing it?

The good faith of the Occupy Wall Street types and hackers who came up with the idea.

You see, money is evil. It's a tool of evil banks and governments, designed to deprive you of your just reward for existing. Some very forward thinking people (you may have seen some of them on the TV during those Occupy events) have the answer for you. Bitcoins. Drop out and tune in to Bitcoins.

Unlike cumbersome dollars, bitcoins are easy to use. All you need is a secure computer, internet connection, your bitlocker software, a good understanding of computer operation and an understanding of modern cryptography software. You also need to check the bitcoin security forums at least twice daily for new vulnerabilities and apply the appropriate patches if available (of go offline until the patch is issued), and execute a robust backup regimen since loss of your data = loss of your wealth.

It's pretty safe too. Sure, now and then one of the "insiders" like the one in this story will abscond with all your money, but that's just another form of the exalted wealth distribution concept, so it's all good.

So remember, the dollar is evil. Just because it appears to work when you want it to, it's really deceptive. When you pay your dinner bill, the dollars you give the restaurant are backed by nothing but the US government and the country... that's a pretty weak promise. With Bitcoins, you have the "coolness" of it on your side, so who needs monetary backing?

34 posted on 02/13/2014 8:34:36 PM PST by Cementjungle
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

Hey, don’t you just hate it when a software bug crashes your money?


35 posted on 02/13/2014 8:47:42 PM PST by catnipman (Cat Nipman: Vote Republican in 2012 and only be called racist one more time!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

Today was about ignoring people and Deep Coding. Executive summary: protocol is fine. Reference wallet implementation is getting fixed— Gavin Andresen (@gavinandresen) February 14, 2014


36 posted on 02/13/2014 8:49:44 PM PST by TsonicTsunami08
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

Exponentially growing computer power will destroy bit coin. In time someone with enough computer horse power will hack/clone bit coins rendering them worthless.


37 posted on 02/13/2014 10:38:03 PM PST by DB
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DB

The Quantum Quest for a Revolutionary Computer (Jeff Bezo’s “Infinity Machine”)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3121505/posts


38 posted on 02/13/2014 10:41:49 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet (I will raise $2M for Sarah Palin's next run, what will you do?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 37 | View Replies]

To: DB; Errant

Constitution says the States can’t print paper money, but can coin money. Once BTC processing/mining is as strong as a Walmart celery purchase, States can StateCoin, using real assets as backup, maybe not just gold, but agriculture on State lands, oil leases, any resource available to back StateCoin.

Bye bye FED.


39 posted on 02/13/2014 10:48:17 PM PST by txhurl
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 37 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

All of the Bitcoins were stolen in a hack?

I hope that Defcon doesn’t own any guns - it sounds like he is the type to lose them in a boating accident.


40 posted on 02/13/2014 10:53:53 PM PST by 21twelve (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2185147/posts 2013 is 1933 REBORN)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-46 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson