Fourth Coldcard Wallet Attack Underway; Total Losses Estimated at $114 Million
Summary
- A fourth attack targeting Bitcoin hardware wallet Coldcard is underway, with cumulative losses estimated at about $114 million.
- Since July 30, about 1,816 BTC has been drained from more than 5,200 addresses, while the first three attacks affected 4,585 addresses and 1,367 BTC.
- The attack was traced to a random-number-generation flaw in firmware distributed in March 2021, and Coinkite has released emergency firmware and advised users to move assets to wallets created with new seed phrases.
Forecast Trend Report by Period
A fourth theft campaign targeting the Bitcoin hardware wallet Coldcard is underway, with cumulative losses estimated at about $114 million.
CoinDesk reported on August 3 that Alex Thorn, head of Galaxy Research, said the latest attack is targeting Bitcoin addresses generated by Coldcard.
Including the latest incident, about 1,816 BTC is estimated to have been drained from more than 5,200 addresses since July 30. The first three attacks accounted for losses from 4,585 addresses totaling 1,367 BTC.
The attack has been traced to a random-number-generation flaw in firmware distributed in March 2021. That firmware used a predictable software method to create seed phrases, leaving private keys vulnerable to reconstruction.
Coinkite, the manufacturer, has released emergency firmware and advised affected users to move their assets to wallets created with new seed phrases.
Minseung Kang
minriver@bloomingbit.ioBlockchain journalist | Writer of Trade Now & Altcoin Now, must-read content for investors.