Cointelegraph reported that a Reddit user posted that even though he used a paper wallet to store his Bitcoin, hackers still stole all of it, resulting in a loss of US$27,000. Security experts say that online wallet generators have always been a popular criminal tool for hackers, and they remind users who need to store cryptocurrency for a long time to use more trustworthy cold wallets such as Ledger or Trezor.

(Detailed introduction to each wallet: [Introduction to Blockchain] What are "cold wallets" and "hot wallets", and what are the differences between them?)

Paper wallet in trouble?

On July 24, a user named /jdmcnair posted on Reddit’s r/Bitcoin section, claiming that he used a paper wallet, a relatively safer self-custody method, to store the Bitcoin he purchased.

But his investment was recently completely stolen, resulting in a loss of approximately $3,600 and shrinking his confidence in Bitcoin as a store of value.

It is reported that the transaction involved the transfer of funds from more than 20 other users, all of which were sent to the same Bitcoin wallet address, resulting in the acquisition of 0.92 Bitcoins, worth approximately US$27,000.

/jdmcnair Description:

I generated the key on my offline computer, copied it down, transferred the bitcoins to that offline wallet, and threw it all into a safe that only I knew the password to. I thought I was saving them in a safer way.

Reason exposed

After understanding, it was found that the user used WalletGenerator.net's JavaScript wallet generation tool to create the wallet. Even if the wallet generation process is performed in an offline environment, there may still be loopholes that may lead to the leakage of private keys.

According to Cointelegraph, WalletGenerator.net did have a code operation problem in May 2019 that caused the same key to be sent multiple times to holders of different wallets, which also resulted in a theft loss of 45,000 ETH at that time. .

Paper wallets remain doubtful

Hugh Brooks, director of security operations at blockchain security company CertiK, said:

Online wallet generators have long been a popular criminal tool for hackers.

It is also added that these wallet generation tools may still be fraudulent, especially for those IP addresses that transmit data to the website and are closely related to Russia. Users can check the Criminal IP to ensure the security of the tools they use.

He also warned that the paper wallet generation tool has had serious vulnerabilities since 2019. If someone uses walletgenerator.net to generate a wallet, his private key may have been sent to different users.

Brooks also mentioned solutions, stating that users should use trusted cold wallet providers such as Ledger and Trezor for cryptocurrency storage.

Nick Percoco, security officer at cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, also pointed out that criminals will steal things that can make quick profits, and cryptocurrency is one of the most valuable assets today. Therefore, you need to pay attention to your own safety in all aspects.

This article: Can paper wallets be stolen? The online wallet generation tool caused trouble and nearly 30,000 mg was lost. The post appeared first on Chain News ABMedia.