Bitcoin Is Not Anonymous After All

Discussion in 'Technical' started by sec_monkey, Nov 26, 2014.


  1. sec_monkey

    sec_monkey SM Security Administrator

    Bitcoin Is Not Anonymous After All - Slashdot


    "The Bitcoin system is not managed by a central authority, but relies on a peer-to-peer network on the Internet. Anyone can join the network as a user or provide computing capacity to process the transactions. In the network, the user's identity is hidden behind a cryptographic pseudonym, which can be changed as often as is wanted. Transactions are signed with this pseudonym and broadcast to the public network to verify their authenticity and attribute the Bitcoins to the new owner. In their new study, researchers at the Laboratory of Algorithmics, Cryptology and Security of the University of Luxembourg have shown that Bitcoin does not protect user's IP address and that it can be linked to the user's transactions in real-time. To find this out, a hacker would need only a few computers and about €1500 per month for server and traffic costs. Moreover, the popular anonymization network "Tor" can do little to guarantee Bitcoin user's anonymity, since it can be blocked easily."
     
    stg58 likes this.
  2. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    Anonymous isn't, What BitCoin is really about, but it IS about, for Me, Peer to Peer, near RealTime,Encrypted Comms where the KeySets are predetermined, and kept local for each user... Also where there is not a Central Server, that the system REQUIRES, to be available, for the System to operate.
     
    VisuTrac and sec_monkey like this.
  3. VisuTrac

    VisuTrac Ваша мать носит военные ботинки Site Supporter+++

    It was never suppose to be touted as 'Anonymous'. Somewhere along the line, someone said .. it's an anonymous way to send money. And it stuck. meh.

    They should have said it's a way to transact with anyone, anywhere without having to ask permission from a government or financial institution. And that's way better than anonymity! And for the most part, unless someone wants to invest a couple grand a month and time to code an app, the IP address for a transaction is going to be kind of useless, especially if the wallet is on a mobile device getting IP addresses passed out from free WiFi hotspots and they are single transactions at a single point.

    It will be lots of noise. Lots of data points. Might be interesting to see traffic to say a drug market and individual wallets. But if you aren't ordering it from your home IP and the seller is using an online wallet. They are going to need lots and lots of people checking out approximately 4.3 Billion IPv4, and 340 Undecillion IPv6 addresses. I'm sure the NSA and the next stimulus package from DC will help, but probably not enough.
     
  4. Byte

    Byte Monkey+++

    Ahahahha...there are only estimated to have been 108B humans in the history of the species...at 10^38 avail addresses IPv6 won't need a replacement for a few hundred undecillion years! Now imagine a BC client (or any other realtime transaction client) that randomized addressing per transaction! That's something to shoot for any of you crypto heads out there in cyberspace. Make it so.

    But I'm guessing there are quite a few projects in the works with that very goal in mind. An admirable goal if there ever was one if you were to ask my opinion of such things...
     
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