Blockchain, the bitcoin wallet company, recently discovered it had sent $8,000 worth of bitcoins to a wrong address, which was a result of what the company called a security bug in its Android wallets.
The programming flaw revealed that Blockchain had accidentally sent the digital currency to one non-random user of its wallet, which it discovered after the security bug was found. The company explained that it has released a new version of its Android wallet to prevent this issue from happening in the future.
“In rare circumstances, certain versions of Android operating system could fail to provide sufficient entropy, and when backup provisions also failed, multiple users could end up generating duplicate addresses. To our knowledge, this bug resulted in one specific address being generated multiple times, leading to a loss of funds for a handful of users,” Alyson Margaret, Blockchain’s communications manager wrote on the company’s blog.
The security flaw misrouted 34 bitcoin, which is worth around $8,000, to a user because of the security issue. The issue has since been addressed and Blockchain said it has released a new, improved version on the Google Play Store. In light of the security glitch, Blockchain has suggested users move bitcoins from their current addresses to new addresses to avoid the same issue from occurring again. The blog also provides steps for any users who may have had a bitcoin address compromised, and encourages concerned users to contact Blockchain’s support team.
“Though the issue occurs rarely, it might impact bitcoin addresses generated by old versions of our wallet when run on Android 4.1 ‘Jelly Bean’ or older. Users should download the latest version of our app from the Google Play store, and update their Android OS,” Margaret wrote.
To check out what else is HOT in the world of payments, click here.
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
Learn More