Disclaimer: Information found on CryptoreNews is those of writers quoted. It does not represent the opinions of CryptoreNews on whether to sell, buy or hold any investments. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use provided information at your own risk.
CryptoreNews covers fintech, blockchain and Bitcoin bringing you the latest crypto news and analyses on the future of money.
Amid the increasing number of attacks on cryptocurrency holders, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has suggested the idea of “setting up secret words.” According to the creator of the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, if such words are spoken near smartwatches, phones, or home devices, the system would automatically alert emergency services.
With the use of a secret phrase, law enforcement would be able to receive real-time information about an individual’s location. This tracking would be particularly beneficial in cases where criminals abduct a victim.
“Since this system requires deliberate actions from the victim to operate, the likelihood that authorities could misuse it against individuals appears to be quite low,” Buterin noted.
Related Posts
Previously, the Ethereum co-founder proposed enhancing blockchain with a simulation of operations. This mechanism would assist in modeling a transaction and demonstrating the final outcome of a deal or transfer to the user. Buterin believes this could help prevent financial losses.
Over the past year, incidents of physical violence and extortion involving Bitcoin holders have surged by 75%, according to experts from the blockchain security auditing firm CertiK. The majority of these cases, approximately 40%, occurred in France. In early January, a tax office employee was arrested on suspicion of leaking information about cryptocurrency holders to criminals.
Recently, an incident took place in the town of Le-Chesnay near Paris, where an unknown assailants posing as police attacked a married couple and forced them to transfer around 900,000 euros ($1 million) in Bitcoin. Last month, three masked men broke into the home of the head of Binance France, and just days prior, a group of six abducted a French judge and her elderly mother, demanding a ransom in cryptocurrency from the woman’s partner.
In early January, a court in Lyon, France, detained three suspects involved in the kidnapping of a pensioner, whom the attackers mistakenly believed to be the father of a crypto millionaire. The son of the 74-year-old Frenchman was demanded to pay a ransom in cryptocurrency.
