What is Stopping Bitcoin from Being Hacked?
After episode 5, we got a question from one of our listeners. This question is about education, and trust in the network.
What is stopping a hacker from infecting the bitcoin network with a virus and stealing my money?
This is a great question, one that needs to be answered in order for this person to trust putting their money into bitcoin. With banks, we have an assurance that even if they are hacked, there will be some sort of way to be reimbursed for the dollars in our bank account. With cryptocurrency, this doesn’t exist. In episode 6 of Go Full Crypto, we will talk all about the various things that can go wrong while using the bitcoin network.
The Safekeeping of Cryptocurrency
This question comes down to understanding how to keep your cryptocurrency safe. With Cryptocurrency, we have to introduce the notion of keys. Your keys are held within a wallet, and they grant you access to your money. Your money is actually stored on every single computer that runs the network. It is not possible for a hacker to infect the network with a virus to steal funds because your keys are not stored on the network. Your keys are stored on your computer, therefore, it is essential that you practice good computer security. This means installing ad-blockers, not opening spam emails, using a VPN, and having good passwords. If your computer is infected and your keys are stored on your computer, then you are at risk to lose your funds.
Has Bitcoin Ever Been Attacked?
The bitcoin network has been attacked many times, but has never succeeded. The most common kind of attack is called a DDoS, or distributed denial of service. In a nutshell, attackers try to make many requests at once in an attempt to shut down the computer that is running the network. The bitcoin network isn’t run by one computer, or even 100 computers. The bitcoin network is made up of thousands of computers, run by individuals, and companies all over the world. This makes the bitcoin network very secure, as it is infeasible to attack all of the computers at once. Bitcoin is said to be very durable, meaning, it can withstand a large attack, and not be broken.
Tune Into the Podcast
Tune into episode 6 of the Go Full Crypto podcast. Mrugakshee and Keegan will be discussing this topic at length, and diving further into the topic by answering the following question.
What would cause Bitcoin to fail?
What do you think? Leave your comments below.
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