Multiple blockchain.info wallets hacked, .onion mirror URL set up for Tor users

Sunday, 30/11/2014 | 08:28 GMT by Leon Pick
Multiple blockchain.info wallets hacked, .onion mirror URL set up for Tor users

Several users of the blockchain.info Bitcoin wallet, a household brand in the community, have reported that their accounts have been hacked and bitcoin withdrawn. This, despite employing multiple passwords and 2-factor authentication (2FA).

Some users have reportedly fallen victim to sophisticated phishing attacks. It is cosidered a best practice to type the correct URL into address bar, as opposed to just following links from web searches.

In addition, Tor users were further vulnerable to attack due to a rogue exit node, which stripped the SSL encryption from information sent. This can be observed when the URL displayed as "http:", as opposed to "https:". Blockchain .info did employ HSTS, which forces pages into "https:", but this is ineffective when users explicitly enter "http:".

The unencrypted traffic was then simply picked up in a man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack, gleaning the victim's user ID and password to access his/her wallet.

In response, blockchain.info has set up a mirror .onion URL (https://blockchatvqztbll.onion) for Tor users to ensure traffic is encrypted. This is a temporary fix while the company looks to solve the MITM issue.

Weak password management is also to blame for some of the attacks.

Several users of the blockchain.info Bitcoin wallet, a household brand in the community, have reported that their accounts have been hacked and bitcoin withdrawn. This, despite employing multiple passwords and 2-factor authentication (2FA).

Some users have reportedly fallen victim to sophisticated phishing attacks. It is cosidered a best practice to type the correct URL into address bar, as opposed to just following links from web searches.

In addition, Tor users were further vulnerable to attack due to a rogue exit node, which stripped the SSL encryption from information sent. This can be observed when the URL displayed as "http:", as opposed to "https:". Blockchain .info did employ HSTS, which forces pages into "https:", but this is ineffective when users explicitly enter "http:".

The unencrypted traffic was then simply picked up in a man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack, gleaning the victim's user ID and password to access his/her wallet.

In response, blockchain.info has set up a mirror .onion URL (https://blockchatvqztbll.onion) for Tor users to ensure traffic is encrypted. This is a temporary fix while the company looks to solve the MITM issue.

Weak password management is also to blame for some of the attacks.

About the Author: Leon Pick
Leon  Pick
  • 1998 Articles
  • 5 Followers
About the Author: Leon Pick
  • 1998 Articles
  • 5 Followers

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