Thursday, December 7th 2017
Mining "Renting" Service Nicehash Hacked; $68M Routed From User Wallets
Another high-profile hack has hit Bitcoin, as cryptocurrency mining pool Nicehash has confirmed that they've suffered a hack which has rendered users' wallets with the service to be emptied. The heist, currently valued at more than $68M, transferred 4,736.4281 BTC in total to the unknown party's (the perpetrator's, almost certainly) wallet. A single transaction of 4,655.25349748 BTC was the most high-profile one to take place, and has left Nicehash users in the cold.
In a post on Reddit, Nicehash representatives confirmed the heist, stating that "Unfortunately, there has been a security breach involving NiceHash website. We are currently investigating the nature of the incident and, as a result, we are stopping all operations for the next 24 hours. Importantly, our payment system was compromised and the contents of the NiceHash Bitcoin wallet have been stolen. We are working to verify the precise number of BTC taken."
"Unfortunately" seems to be too much of a sweet, sugarcoated word for the unmitigated disaster this is. However, the outfit says they have kept their eyes in the ball, in that "Clearly, this is a matter of deep concern and we are working hard to rectify the matter in the coming days. In addition to undertaking our own investigation, the incident has been reported to the relevant authorities and law enforcement and we are co-operating with them as a matter of urgency."
Nicehash was one of the foremost ways for users to put their hardware to usage in mining coins. Slightly different from a standard pool, where users contribute their own computing resources to that of a whole in order to increase chances of mining entire blocks, Nicehash worked on a mining power "renting" philosophy, where users contributed their hardware resources and hashing power towards mining workloads that were purchased by interested parties. This let users mine without having to micromanage their mining platform, and let renters of hashing power free from having to invest in hardware that would lose out on value eventually.
Nicehash has also warned users to change their passwords, as a matter of precaution, and has vowed to review and increase their security measures... But that may come slightly with a "too little, too late" taste to it for former and prospective users of the service. It remains to be seen whether they can bounce back from this event or not.
It's interesting to note that Bitcoin's value seems impervious to the event, however; the cryptocurrency has kept on soaring in value after the hack was discovered and announced.
Sources:
Coin Telegraph, Nicehash on Reddit
In a post on Reddit, Nicehash representatives confirmed the heist, stating that "Unfortunately, there has been a security breach involving NiceHash website. We are currently investigating the nature of the incident and, as a result, we are stopping all operations for the next 24 hours. Importantly, our payment system was compromised and the contents of the NiceHash Bitcoin wallet have been stolen. We are working to verify the precise number of BTC taken."
Nicehash was one of the foremost ways for users to put their hardware to usage in mining coins. Slightly different from a standard pool, where users contribute their own computing resources to that of a whole in order to increase chances of mining entire blocks, Nicehash worked on a mining power "renting" philosophy, where users contributed their hardware resources and hashing power towards mining workloads that were purchased by interested parties. This let users mine without having to micromanage their mining platform, and let renters of hashing power free from having to invest in hardware that would lose out on value eventually.
Nicehash has also warned users to change their passwords, as a matter of precaution, and has vowed to review and increase their security measures... But that may come slightly with a "too little, too late" taste to it for former and prospective users of the service. It remains to be seen whether they can bounce back from this event or not.
It's interesting to note that Bitcoin's value seems impervious to the event, however; the cryptocurrency has kept on soaring in value after the hack was discovered and announced.
51 Comments on Mining "Renting" Service Nicehash Hacked; $68M Routed From User Wallets
strange..
trog
They aren't.You can.
People just are ignorant. And apparently, never learn.
Mining, a geek craze creating wealth for the elite (and pocket money for most others). Awesome. :shadedshu:
I think you're stretching reality to fit your 'mining is bad' agenda.
Bitcoin Mining Now Consuming More Electricity Than 159 Countries
Changes on a planetary scale happen slowly, not overnight like the mining craze. You're looking at an upward trend that's been going on for a long time before crypto mining, and you're going "well, gpus make heat and use electric, must be that".
edit - I mean, it will make a slight difference in the future, not denying that, but blaming more forest fires on crypto mining specifically is beyond funny to me.
No I'm saying the whole mining thing is stupid & fuckin crazy, it's human greed at it's very best. As a proof of concept we already have blockchain, so why do people need to mine $ out of thin air? They could spend the money dedicated to mining (hardware) on something else & so many other/better things. I can understand DC & totally support it, not this abomination!
Yes it is but something like mining is such a massive deviation that the cumulative effects will just add up exponentially. You think mining is just about electricity consumption, what about the extra hardware that was built/ordered just for mining, does that come out of thin air? What about transporting those things, cooling mining equipment et al?
Blockchain is the future, but for the individual making money = NO, THE MAN DONT GET TAX OFF IT!
They don't want it period.
I'll keep my tinfoil hat on and run away :laugh:
Without PoW, we could do away with mining. But no one has really answered this question yet.Climate change does have an impact on the frequency of fires, but that's off topic for here really.
Mining is regulated by the code. No matter how hard anyone mines, no matter how many, there will only be the same amount of bitcoins per block. Period. Only a fixed amount too.Speaking from experience, running a mining farm is a full time job. Harder than one at times. There's a reason I left it behind for a normal job.