State-sponsored attacks may target upcoming Bitcoin Core release

Another day, another wild bitcoin story.

Bitcoin Core, one of the most popular bitcoin wallets today, is about to get an upgrade. But users are being warned that the upcoming 0.13.0 Bitcoin Core release will likely be targeted by government-sponsored hackers.

Bitcoin.org believed that since most people download the wallet software from their site, there is a big incentive for anyone who managed to sneak in malicious binary files. In a post, the site admitted it does not have the necessary technical resources to defend against an attack, which was why it’s warning the community—especially the Chinese bitcoin community—to be “extra vigilant” when downloading binaries.

“Not being careful before you download binaries could cause you to lose all your coins. This malicious software might also cause your computer to participate in attacks against the Bitcoin network. We believe Chinese services such as pools and exchanges are most at risk here due to the origin of the attackers,” Bitcoin.org said.