"Making Bitcoin More Secure"
Guan-Hua Tu, an assistant professor in the College of Engineering at Michigan State University (MSU), and his team are developing ways to protect popular bitcoin applications used for cryptocurrency management. Tu and his team are finding vulnerabilities in these apps that could leave a user's money and personal information at risk of theft by cybercriminals. They are also raising awareness about these vulnerabilities to help users better protect themselves and developing an app aimed at addressing those vulnerabilities. Users are encouraged not to use smartphone wallet apps developed by untrusted developers and to manage their bitcoin using a computer instead of a smartphone. The researchers developed the Spartan app, which is designed to run simultaneously on the same phone as a wallet and monitor for intrusions. The app alerts users when an attack occurs and provides remedies based on the type of attack. For example, the app can add noise to outgoing bitcoin messages to prevent an attacker from retrieving accurate information. The team is developing the app for Android phones and plans to make it available for download in the Google Play app store. This article continues to discuss the vulnerabilities found in bitcoin wallet apps, the attacks made possible by these vulnerabilities, the Spartan app designed to protect against those attacks, and how users can protect themselves from the security flaws of a smartphone bitcoin wallet app.