BitGo, a well-known Bitcoin wallet service, was hit with a massive DDoS attack recently that left users unable to access their cash and challenged commonly held notions about Bitcoin security.
The attack took place on Saturday and lasted somewhere between four and five hours. During the attack, end-users were unable to access their funds. Published reports also indicate that BitGo’s servers crashed during the attack as well.
To its credit, BitGo was very transparent with regards to the attack, tweeting out a message to its users reading:
We apologize for the issue, but we’re under DDOS attack at this moment. We’re working on it and will keep you updated.
That transparency may have bought some good PR, but BitGo users were more focused on the practical matters, such as insuring that their funds remained in a secure environment. To that end Wirex, an instant settlement Bitcoin debit card company, advised its users to refrain from making transactions until BitGo’s troubles came to an end.
While DDoS and other hacker attacks are hardly uncommon in any industry, they carry extra danger in the Bitcoin business. After all, anonymity is one of Bitcoin’s biggest draws. That anonymity is great, right up until the moment those faceless Bitcoin are stolen away and disappear into the ether.
It turns out that BitGo may not have been alone in its DDoS misery this weekend. There are unconfirmed reports that several other Bitcoin wallet companies were hit with similar attacks this weekend, too.
As of this writing, BitGo is back in business now and attempting to move on from the weekend attack.