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The tinfoil hat in me has to wonder if there's some reason all these exchanges are failing so extravagantly.

ent 12y ago
No tinfoil needed for the explanation: they're pretty fat targets with code security at the level of normal startups. It would be interesting to see how much they get targetted in comparison to startups that can at most spill some personal user info and cc numbers.
- detaro 12y ago
  They even proudly announced that it was build "Built on Golang from the ground up." http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/2loray/a_new_bitcoin_exchange_has_opened_up_excoin_is/ http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/2loray/a_new_bitcoi...
  - juliangregorian 12y ago
    Is Go a particularly safe language (moreso than, say Python or Java)?
    - _wdh 12y ago
      The language itself is probably fine but the fact that they are starting from scratch with what appears to be no input from security or financial professionals is a clear sign that there will be security holes
Johnie 12y ago
Yeah, people without experience writing secure financial code and not understanding financial risk management are opening bitcoin exchanges. Even the way they handled this breach is amateur hour. From the post, it doesn't look like they've involved any authorities or sought out legal counsel to protect themselves. Imagine if your citibank or chase account doing this. People would be in an uproar.
nyolfen 12y ago
a currency whose value is underpinned by drugs and money laundering may attract criminals you say
- pavel_lishin 12y ago
  I know, it's crazy that the US government even allows anyone to possess paper money these days.
- grubles 12y ago
  Bitcoin is underpinned by drugs and money laundering, you say? That is funny considering "the most powerful drug trafficking organization in the world" just had 32 people arrested for running a multistate gold-for-cash scheme that laundered more than $100m in US profits.[0] [0]http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/12/gold-for-cash-scheme-sinaloa-drug-cartel-profits http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/12/gold-for-cash...
  - ch 12y ago
    You're just bolstering the point with this argument.
    - grubles 12y ago
      How, exactly? The point is: drug and crime are currency-agnostic.
meowface 12y ago
I think it's a pretty open-and-shut case. Startup companies with no serious experience in information security, or finance, or financial information security are making large web applications that store and trade digital currency. That currency, if taken, cannot be recovered in any way unless law enforcement physically raids the perpetrator, just as if they stole physical cash. There are millions of unscrupulous fraudsters and black hats out there who realize they can effectively rob banks over the Internet, sometimes as easily as walking in through the side door and walking out with all their assets without anyone ever knowing they were there until they're long gone. Bitcoin banks and exchanges are the absolute most valuable target for cybercrime, due to the incredibly high potential for reward (6, 7, or 8 figures from one heist is not uncommon), the irrevocability of the currency, and the low chance of being found or caught. It's a bank robber's perfect fantasy. It does take a lot of time to liquidate the treasure chest, but it's still pretty trivial to do securely.
- smoyer 12y ago
  "Startup companies with no serious experience in information security, or finance, or financial information security" You hit the nail on the head ... the BitCoin exchanges were created because someone saw it as the "next big thing" (tm). I'm not sure I'd trust the Winkelvoss' BTC fund any more than the start-up exchanges until their code is audited by a cryptoanalyst and their audit systems are sophisticated enough to throw a dead-man's switch.
  - meowface 12y ago
    Exactly. Coinbase is the only company I trust in this space right now. They take security very seriously and have received several professional audits.

ent 12y ago

No tinfoil needed for the explanation: they're pretty fat targets with code security at the level of normal startups. It would be interesting to see how much they get targetted in comparison to startups that can at most spill some personal user info and cc numbers.

detaro 12y ago
They even proudly announced that it was build "Built on Golang from the ground up." http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/2loray/a_new_bitcoin_exchange_has_opened_up_excoin_is/ http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/2loray/a_new_bitcoi...
- juliangregorian 12y ago
  Is Go a particularly safe language (moreso than, say Python or Java)?
  - _wdh 12y ago
    The language itself is probably fine but the fact that they are starting from scratch with what appears to be no input from security or financial professionals is a clear sign that there will be security holes

Johnie 12y ago

Yeah, people without experience writing secure financial code and not understanding financial risk management are opening bitcoin exchanges. Even the way they handled this breach is amateur hour. From the post, it doesn't look like they've involved any authorities or sought out legal counsel to protect themselves. Imagine if your citibank or chase account doing this. People would be in an uproar.

nyolfen 12y ago

a currency whose value is underpinned by drugs and money laundering may attract criminals you say

pavel_lishin 12y ago
I know, it's crazy that the US government even allows anyone to possess paper money these days.
grubles 12y ago
Bitcoin is underpinned by drugs and money laundering, you say? That is funny considering "the most powerful drug trafficking organization in the world" just had 32 people arrested for running a multistate gold-for-cash scheme that laundered more than $100m in US profits.[0] [0]http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/12/gold-for-cash-scheme-sinaloa-drug-cartel-profits http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/12/gold-for-cash...
- ch 12y ago
  You're just bolstering the point with this argument.
  - grubles 12y ago
    How, exactly? The point is: drug and crime are currency-agnostic.

meowface 12y ago

I think it's a pretty open-and-shut case. Startup companies with no serious experience in information security, or finance, or financial information security are making large web applications that store and trade digital currency. That currency, if taken, cannot be recovered in any way unless law enforcement physically raids the perpetrator, just as if they stole physical cash. There are millions of unscrupulous fraudsters and black hats out there who realize they can effectively rob banks over the Internet, sometimes as easily as walking in through the side door and walking out with all their assets without anyone ever knowing they were there until they're long gone. Bitcoin banks and exchanges are the absolute most valuable target for cybercrime, due to the incredibly high potential for reward (6, 7, or 8 figures from one heist is not uncommon), the irrevocability of the currency, and the low chance of being found or caught. It's a bank robber's perfect fantasy. It does take a lot of time to liquidate the treasure chest, but it's still pretty trivial to do securely.

smoyer 12y ago
"Startup companies with no serious experience in information security, or finance, or financial information security" You hit the nail on the head ... the BitCoin exchanges were created because someone saw it as the "next big thing" (tm). I'm not sure I'd trust the Winkelvoss' BTC fund any more than the start-up exchanges until their code is audited by a cryptoanalyst and their audit systems are sophisticated enough to throw a dead-man's switch.
- meowface 12y ago
  Exactly. Coinbase is the only company I trust in this space right now. They take security very seriously and have received several professional audits.