Hi Crypto Network,
Cold storage methods and hardware wallets are widely heralded as the pinnacle in security for storage of digital assets like Bitcoin. By definition, cold storage is a “method of storing private keys in a secure offline environment”.
The first hardware wallet appeared on the market in 2012 at a time when hacking has reached epidemic proportions as the only options were software wallets used on computers or smartphones.
CAN COMMON HARDWARE WALLETS BE HACKED?
But there is a critical flaw with these devices (like KeepKey, Trezor, or Ledger, and others) in that they were never designed for or intended for physical attacks that include theft, confiscation, seizure, loss, being left behind in an unknown or unsafe environment, or any other situation where someone other than you gains physical access to your device. If this were to happen then extraction of all your funds is trivial as demonstrated over and over again.
Here are just a few recent examples written by others:
Kraken Identifies Critical Flaw in Trezor Hardware Wallets
Unfixable Seed Extraction on Trezor – A practical and reliable attack
Ledger Nano S Known Vulnerabilitie
EXTRACTION OF YOUR CRYPTO IN MINUTES IS POSSIBLE
In these examples, extraction was performed in minutes and with tools that cost less than $100 and can be performed by anyone with basic tech knowledge. If any one of these devices goes to a more powerful attacker with access to a forensic computer lab with sophisticated tools, such as contractors that work for government agencies, then extraction is performed in mere seconds. In white color cases, forensic labs routinely perform data extraction on multi-million dollar secure servers so it is naive to think that a $100 consumer gadget offers any protection at all from physical seizure.
The above is not being presented to alarm you that your crypto will suddenly disappear. This is to educate the reader on what your cold storage wallet can and cannot do so that users do not live with a false sense of security. Cold storage wallets are not designed and were never intended to protect users from physical attacks. These devices are designed to stop online attacks wherein the attacker does not have physical access to your device.
However, physical protection is important for numerous reasons. First, there is a significant rise in physical seizures of hardware wallets (it is no surprise that the FBI is currently the world’s largest holder of Bitcoin with over 144,000 BTC on hand when last reported) and it is expected that physical attacks will only increase in frequency in the near future as cryptocurrency adoption grows.
The second reason is that Bitcoin was always intended to be an unseizable/ unconfiscatable asset. The very reason that gold got demonetized is because it is so easy to confiscate. All cold storage wallet technologies today offer no greater protection from seizure than leaving bars of gold in a safe.
One other major glaring flaw that is almost never discussed, is that cold storage wallets require a back-up of the 24 word seed either written on paper or etched into a steel plate and hidden. This a very serious security problem because anyone who finds the 24 words will have instant access to all your funds. And the reason this is not often discussed is simply because security labs are only focused on device security as this their only area of interest.
For a security lab, there is nothing to test or discover about the obvious fact that these 24 words will cause total loss if found.
As such, there are two serious attack vectors (among others) for all cold storage devices that would lead to total loss
1) someone gaining physical access to device itself
2) someone gaining physical access to the 24 word seed. The 24 word seed is particularly dangerous because anyone, without any technical skill at all, can take all your funds by finding your 24 words.
WHICH IS THE SAFEST BITCOIN WALLET THAT I CAN USE?
Until now, the Platinum Crypto Academy always recommended the use of cold storage hardware wallets because it has been the best available option. But now, we are extremely excited to report that a new technology is available that solves the biggest challenges in hardware wallets. This technology offers absolute protection in all circumstances and the security of which does not decay over time regardless of new forensic methods that are rapidly evolving. Everything changed when we came across the new Bitfi.2 hardware wallet and performed a significant amount of due diligence on this technology.
WHY THE BITFI CRYPTO HARDWARE WALLET IS DIFFERENT
At first glance, it may look like just another hardware wallet. But this is a revolutionary technology that is unlike anything else that exists today, regardless of cost. This patent- pending wallet takes an elegant and brilliant approach to a problem that affects all cold st methods.
It is not a storage device, it does not, like other hardware wallets store your private keys on a device. Instead the Bitfi.2 is a computing device that calculates your private keys at time of transaction based on a user created salt & secret phrase. Based on measurements with forensic tools, the private key that is calculated by the device exists so briefly that it cannot even be detected (much less than 1 second). This means that before you even put the device back down after using it, there is no private key.
The simplest analogy to understand how it works is as follows. If you take a calculator and enter 5 x 6 (input) the output is always 30. If you take any other calculator in the world and enter this input, the output again will always be 30. In the case of Bitfi, your input is your user created salt & secret phrase and your output is always the private key for whichever currency you are using. The device calculates your private keys (lets say for Ethereum), signs the transaction, the private key instantly disappears (it is also never transmitted by the device since the blockchain never needs your actual private key, it only needs approval signed with that key), and approval is transmitted to blockchain to release your funds.
Therefore consider this simple thought experiment – how can one possibly improve upon the security of a device that does not have any private keys on it to steal? No matter how secure you make something, if it is holding data this data can and will be extracted. You can even have a multi-million dollar underground bunker with military grade servers and this is still susceptible to attack and extraction: https://qz.com/1103310/photos-the-secret-swiss- mountain-bunker-where-millionaires-stash-their-bitcoins/
This makes us smile, because despite all that effort and expense, the simple Bitfi device completely replaces and surpasses the security of this military bunker. A device with absolutely no data cannot have data extracted, even if someone spends 1000 years trying. Any other conclusion defies common sense.
Another important factor is that this scrutiny does not decay with time. For example, if some company offered a $10,000 cold storage wallet with the most advanced encryption ever created, this encryption is only advanced today. But forensic tools rapidly evolve along with all other technologies. If you leave this hypothetical wallet on a shelf or in a safe, in a few years it will be as easy to extract private keys from this device as it is from a $150 device today. But it will always be impossible to extract private keys from a device that doesn’t have them, even if left unattended forever.
A REVOLUTIONARY CRYPTO WALLET – KEEP YOUR CRYPTOS SAFE
There are many more brilliant innovations in the Bitfi device and supporting infrastructure that will be covered in future articles that give users absolute security, convenience, and total peace of mind unlike anything else. In the meantime, we urge you to consider getting the Bitfi.2 which is the most important innovation in cryptography since Bitcoin itself.
We consider Bitfi.2 to be such an important tool for all of our followers that we have made arrangements with Bitfi to make it easy for you to try and see for yourself with a $2 no obligation trial.
This is how confident we are that Bitfi will change your life. The offer is simple. Just pay a $2 shipping and handling fee and Bitfi will send you the Bitfi.2 to use and give you 30 days to evaluate. If you don’t agree that it is the most revolutionary technology in Blockchain today, just use a pre-paid shipping label and drop it in the mail. But if you do love it the way we are certain you will, just keep it and Bitfi will charge you for the cost of the device. We have also secured special pricing for our members with Bitfi, so that if you do keep the device, you will pay a discounted price of $149 instead of the usual $199
Hopefully, you have enjoyed today’s article. Thanks for reading!
Have a fantastic day!
Live from the Platinum Crypto Trading Floor.
Earnings Disclaimer: The information you’ll find in this article is for educational purpose only. We make no promise or guarantee of income or earnings. You have to do some work, use your best judgement and perform due diligence before using the information in this article. Your success is still up to you. Nothing in this article is intended to be professional, legal, financial and/or accounting advice. Always seek competent advice from professionals in these matters. If you break the city or other local laws, we will not be held liable for any damages you incur.
