Bitcoin Enthusiast Cracks Known 12-Word Seed Phrase in Minutes, Raises Concerns Over Security

Bitcoin Enthusiast Cracks Known 12-Word Seed Phrase in Minutes

The cracking of a known 12-word seed phrase in minutes prompted questions and calls for effective security measures among experts, as investors and traders become alarmed over the vulnerability of Bitcoin assets.

Bitcoin Wallets At Risk: Twitter Challenge Led To Seed Phrase Crack

A Bitcoin educator, known as “Wicked Bitcoin” on Twitter, shared twelve words in no specific order for anyone who can crack the seed phrase winning 100,000 Satoshi Bounty worth $29.

Andrew Fraser, a Bitcoin enthusiast, managed to decipher the sequence of the seed phrase in just 25 minutes and won himself “100,000 Sats”.

Related: Bitcoin Bulls Gain Momentum from First Republic Losses, Target $40K

BTCrecover, available on GitHUb, is the software application Fraser used. The application determines scrambled passphrase-cracking utilities.

According to Fraser on Twitter DMs,

“My gaming GPU was able to determine the correct order of the seed phrase in about 25 minutes. Though a more capable system would do it much faster.”

He also mentioned that anyone with basic knowledge of running Python scripts, an understanding of the Bitcoin protocol like BIP39 mnemonics, and the use of the Windows command shell can crack the 12-word seed phrase. Hence, it is better to keep phrases from being published online.

The Importance of Seed Phrases in Bitcoin Security

Seed phrases are used by cryptocurrency wallets to recover their assets in case they lose access to their wallets. The wallet’s software generates random phrases consisting of 12 or more words. The likelihood of guessing the phrases is extremely rare since they are highly secure. However, the recent success of Fraser proved that this might not be an effective method.

Related: How To Buy Or Sell Bitcoin Without Using A Centralized Crypto Exchange

The Need for Increased Vigilance and Better Security Measures in Bitcoin Storage

This event of deciphering the seed phrase has raised some serious concerns about the security of Bitcoin wallets. As the digital world continues to advance, it is ideal that we remain cautious and adopt best practices to secure digital funds.

Source: Cointelegraph

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