$300 Million In Crypto Currency Lost FOREVER Thanks To A Bug In A Digital Wallet

$300 million worth of the cryptocurrency Ethereum has been almost definitely lost forever.  The losing of the currency was accidental and due to a bug in a digital wallet.

The Ethereum cryptocurrency has been lost after a series of bugs in a popular digital wallet service led one curious developer accidentally taking control of and then locking up the funds, according to reports.

The user, “devops199”, triggered the flaw completely accidentally. When they realized that they had taken control of the ether of other, they attempted to undo the damage by deleting the code which had transferred ownership of the funds. Rather than returning the money, however, the program simply locked all the funds in those multisignature wallets permanently, with no way to access them. “This means that currently no funds can be moved out of the multi-sig wallets,” Parity says in a security advisory.

Unlike most cryptocurrency hacks, however, the money wasn’t deliberately taken: it was effectively destroyed by accident. According to the Daily Mail, the lost money was in the form of Ether, the tradable currency that fuels the Ethereum distributed app platform, and was kept in digital multi-signature wallets built by a developer called Parity. These wallets require more than one user to enter their key before funds can be transferred.

On Tuesday, Parity revealed that, while fixing a bug that let hackers steal $32m out of few multi-signature wallets, it had inadvertently left the second flaw in its systems that allowed one user to become the sole owner of every single multi-signature wallet.

“We are analyzing the situation and will release an update with further details shortly,” Parity told users. Parity says that it is unable to confirm the exact amount lost and that the $300 million figure is “purely speculative”. The company also disputes that the currency is “lost.” They are arguing that the term “frozen” is more accurate. But if it is frozen, it appears that no-one has the ability to unfreeze the funds and there seems to be no resolution in sight.

“The Parity vulnerability was the result of an incorrectly coded smart contract used by the Parity wallet to store tokens on the Ethereum network,” said Dominic Williams, founder of blockchain firm DFINITY. “The vulnerability made it possible for anyone to ‘freeze’ the tokens held by that smart contract, making them immovable. At this time, the only method we are aware of to ‘unfreeze’ tokens held by the vulnerable smart contract would be to create a new ‘hard fork’ Ethereum client that deploys a fix. This would require every full node on the Ethereum network to upgrade by the date of the hard fork to stay in sync, including all miners, wallets, exchanges, etc.”

Sandbox Sickness: Diarrhea-Causing Bacteria Found on Playgrounds

A small study by researchers in Spain finds that dangerous germs are lurking on playgrounds. [1]

For the study, a team of scientists tested sandboxes and searched for Clostridium difficile, or C. diff. They found it alright, and it was the drug-resistant variety.

C. diff is usually considered a hospital-acquired infection; but the rates of infection outside of hospitals are increasing, the authors of the study write.

One possible source of C. diff exposure is sandboxes, the researchers found. The bacterium may wind up there from the feces of humans and other animals. (Cats + sand = litter box.) The bug can survive for weeks or months outside of the body.

C. diff in sandboxes is especially dangerous for young children, the primary group at risk of catching the bug from playgrounds. Why? Because kids have high rates of geophagia. In other words, they eat sand and dirt.

Studying the Nitty-Gritty of C. Diff in Sandboxes

For the study, researchers tested sand from 40 sandboxes in public parks in Madrid, Spain, including 20 that were designated for children and 20 that were for dogs. C. diff was found in 9 of the sandboxes intended for kids, and 12 of the sandboxes intended for dogs.

An analysis of the different C. diff strains revealed that 2 of the samples from the kids’ sandboxes and 6 samples from the dogs’ sandboxes had “toxigenic” strains, meaning that they produced toxins. These toxins can lead to a damaged colon lining and diarrhea. Some strains of C. diff produce more toxins than others.

Every sample that the researchers tested was resistant to at least 2 antibiotics, making the infection more difficult to treat.

Read: Dutch “Poop Bank” Will Offer Treatment, Research of C. Diff as Antibiotics Fail

The researchers wrote that because of the risks posed by C. diff, tests for the bacterium should be included in future environmental-risk assessments.

Lead researcher Dr. Jose Blanco, from the Department of Animal Health at Complutense University of Madrid, said:

“This study shows the wide distribution of [these] bacteria in the environment, and the need for more studies to elucidate its presence in our communities.” [2]

Past studies in the U.S. have found other pathogens in sandboxes, including Toxoplasma gondii, which can cause flu-like symptoms, and parasitic Ascaris (nematode worm) eggs that can cause abdominal discomfort.

If you’re not totally disgusted yet, this should do it: Different types of roundworms have been found in playgrounds. Baylisascaris procyonis, spread by raccoons, can cause neurological damage and death. Thankfully, it’s extremely rare. Then there’s Toxocara roundworms – these stomach-turning creatures cause about 70 cases of blindness in U.S. children each year.

About Clostridium Difficile

Source: Medical News Today

C. diff infection can be hard to treat. The bacteria cause an intestinal infection that can lead to severe diarrhea which, in turn, can lead to dangerous dehydration. The symptoms of mild to moderate C. diff infection typically include:

• Watery diarrhea 3 or more times a day

• Mild abdominal cramping and tenderness [3]

Serious infections can cause:

• Watery diarrhea 10 to 15 times a day


• Abdominal cramping and pain, which may be severe


• Rapid heart rate


• Fever


• Blood or pus in the stool


• Nausea


• Dehydration


• Loss of appetite


• Weight loss


• Swollen abdomen


• Kidney failure


• Increased white blood cell count [3]

Severe complications can arise from C. diff infection, including:

• Toxic megacolon, a condition in which the colon is unable to expel gas and stool, causing it to become greatly distended (megacolon). If not treated in time, the colon can rupture, causing bacteria from the colon to enter the abdominal cavity, requiring emergency surgery. Toxic megacolon is sometimes fatal.

• Bowel perforation, a rare condition caused by extensive damage to the lining of the large intestine or after toxic megacolon.

A single course of antibiotics can cause C. diff. infection.

How to Prevent C. Diff Infection

To help prevent your little ones from getting sick from sandboxes, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends:

• Keeping sandboxes covered when not in use to keep insects and animals out.

• Letting sand dry before covering the sandbox, as wet sand is an ideal place for bacteria to grow.

• Raking the sand regularly to remove debris, clumps, and other foreign material.

• Not allowing pets to play in the sandbox… for the obvious reasons. [2]

Sources:

[1] Live Science

[2] CBS News

[3] Mayo Clinic

Medical News Today

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About Julie Fidler:
	Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog.