Major cryptocurrency players responded to the United States Treasury’s recent hacking, claiming that Bitcoin is a safer alternative to the current financial system
Leading cryptocurrency proponents were quick to respond to the news that hackers breached the US Treasury. The crypto proponents claimed that such a scenario could never happen with Bitcoin due to the stringent security features in place.
Reuters reported yesterday that cyber attackers believed to be affiliated to Russia have hacked the system and observed email traffic at the U.S. Treasury and Commerce departments. People familiar with the situation claim that this recent discovery might be a scratch on the surface as they believe that the hackers could have done more than merely observe email traffic.
The hackers also breached the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and monitored their communications. The breach is severe and has led to a National Security Council meeting at the White House during the weekend.
According to Reuters, the hackers had been observing NTIA emails for months. The breached emails were running on Microsoft Office 365.
The attack on the US Treasury and other departments has sparked reactions within the cryptocurrency space. Kraken’s head of business, Dan Held, tweeted a picture of the news headline and a caption that says, “Bitcoin never gets hacked”.
Long-time Bitcoin enthusiast Anthony “Pomp” Pompliano agreed with Dan Held, adding that Bitcoin has never been hacked. The cryptocurrency proponents were praising Bitcoin’s security system and the decentralised nature of the digital currency.
Blockfolio further attacked NTIA’s cybersecurity, claiming that the agency is currently using outdated algorithms for its cryptographic security. Blockfolio tweeted that “Bitcoin means trusting a SHA256 algorithm more than the US Treasury”.
Despite the attack on various crypto exchanges and other platforms, Bitcoin has remained secure since it was created over a decade ago. The report didn’t state whether any funds have been compromised in the process.
At the moment, the hackers’ focus was on information circulating amongst government agencies.
Despite Bitcoin’s security and anti-malware measures employed by most of the other cryptocurrencies, crypto exchanges have been prone to hack for years now. Since Bitcoin came into existence a decade ago, cryptocurrency exchanges have lost billions of dollars to hackers due to their inadequate security systems.