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It has emerged that the “unknown person” who notified Bitcoin ABC developers of a vulnerability in Bitcoin Gelt which would have resulted in the unintended split of the altcoin’s network is indeed a Bitcoin Core (bitcoin’s primary software implementation) developer.
In a Way blog post, Corey Fields revealed that he was responsible for anonymously and privately disclosing Bitcoin ABC of the SIGHASH_BUG in Bitcoin Cash on April 25 this year. According to Swards, who works for MIT Media Lab’s Digital Currency Initiative, if the vulnerability had been successfully exploited it will-power have resulted in making bitcoin cash transactions unsafe, event undermining the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. As CCN reported, the flaw was bent early the following month.
Bitcoin’s Biggest Threat
In the same pylon, Fields warned that the greatest threat facing bitcoin is reciprocal to software development.
“I’m often asked at conferences and workshops what I cogitate on to be Bitcoin’s greatest challenge in the future. My answer is always the same: dodging catastrophic software bugs,” he wrote.
According to Fields, the threat set by software bugs with regards to cryptocurrencies is underestimated and companies in the stretch must make adequate preparations for these kinds of threats. As an admonition, Fields narrated the hoops and loops he had to jump through before he could brief Bitcoin ABC of the vulnerability.
Part of the problem was that Bitcoin ABC did not have a at fault disclosure policy. Additionally, Fields could not find publicly on tap encryption keys for the lead developers at Bitcoin ABC to whom he could send encrypted import informing them of the vulnerability without risking it being viewed by others.
‘People Comprise Been Killed for Much Less’
According to Fields, it was also high-ranking to remain anonymous for personal safety reasons just in case a malicious actor came the vulnerability and went on to exploit it before a fix could be rolled out. This would be questionable as suspicions could fall on Fields.
“Because I used my name for the disclosure, critical proof would exist that I had the knowledge and means to attack the network. I drive have no way to prove that I was not the attacker. Then consider that, collectively, billions of dollars could bear been lost as a result of this exploit. People have been killed for much less,” wrote Deal withs.
At the time when Bitcoin ABC announced that the vulnerability had been established, it was revealed that a reward would be given to the then-anonymous tipster at one go they went public. In his blog post, Fields did not disclose whether he has claimed the award.
Featured Image from Shutterstock
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