The newly discovered vulnerability in Intel, which opens the way for two dangerous exploits – Meltdown and Spectre – is worrying for almost every computer user. But for many people, their computers are not just a place where they store their data, they are also their personal banks.
Bitcoins and other popular digital currencies are often stored in wallets – programs that allow holders to access their coins as well as send and receive them. And these digital wallets, in almost all their forms, are also at risk.
Simply put, since Meltdown and Spectre can theoretically be used to steal your data, that means they can also be used to steal your private encryption keys.
All computer and mobile phone users, regardless of whether they own Bitcoins or any other digital currency, should definitely upgrade their operating systems and browsers to the latest versions.
But if you're into cryptocurrency, there are a few extra things you need to know.
The world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase, outlined what the Intel vulnerability means for its users in a blog post on Friday.
The company claims to be prepared for all kinds of potential attacks – whether it's an attack on virtual machines running on Amazon Web Services or any other computer on its network.
As for the steps users need to take, they include patching your operating system and browser, and Coinbase also suggests users store their coins in Vaults, which is a feature on Coinbase that makes your money much safer than storing it in a trading account.
The popular open-source Ethereum wallet, MyEtherWallet, also issued a brief warning on Twitter.
However, for the best possible security, especially for larger amounts of digital currency that you plan to hold for a long time, you should consider a hardware wallet. One of the most popular companies in this space, Ledger, announced on Thursday that its products, the Ledger Nano S and Ledger Blue, are immune to the Spectre and Meltdown attacks — even if your computer is one of those at risk.
Another popular hardware wallet manufacturer, Trezor, also announced that it is not affected by Spectre and Meltdown.
To summarize: Keep all your software up to date and, if possible, store your digital currencies in a secure hardware wallet. Most importantly, stay tuned. There may be other exploits resulting from the Intel chip vulnerability in the future.
