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Artificial intelligence (AI) bots have become one of the most popular ways to trade cryptocurrencies. However, cybersecurity analysts have uncovered one designed to steal crypto private keys.
In an April 20 post on social media platform X, pseudonymous security researcher dm557 flagged the nefarious project on GitHub.
How This AI Bot Steals Crypto
According to dm557’s findings, the ai bot includes a “checkrug.py” file containing a binary encrypted script that decrypts data and transmits private keys. In crypto, private keys serve as the digital signatures for transactions. If these keys fall into the wrong hands, it can lead to substantial losses.
Evilcos, the pseudonymous founder of SlowMist, a prominent blockchain security firm, corroborated these findings and explained how the trading bot operated. He noted that the bot has a backdoor code that executes to steal the private keys of its users.
Notably, the security expert warned the crypto community to be careful when they see complex codes because they could be used to cover malicious intent.
“If you are not familiar with the code, you need to be alert when you see fancy codes (“garbled code”), because there may be something fishy hidden. Crypto is all about open source. If it is open source, it is eager to provide highly readable code. Who would bother with these fancy codes?,” Evilcos remarked.
Read more: Best Crypto Bots To Automate Trading
It appears the project’s developer has removed the backdoor code as of press time. Nonetheless, experts have warned against downloading the ai bot because removing the malicious code might be a ploy to lure more unsuspecting users into downloading it.
“The author has deleted the backdoor and is working hard to update it. Once more people use it, backdoors may be added at any time. Stay away from repositories with a dark history,” crypto developer Greysign said.
Remarkably, the author blocked attempts to flag the project as risky by deleting a message stating it has a backdoor.
Read more: 13 Best AI Crypto Trading Bots To Maximize Your Profits
Due to the cryptocurrency market’s heightened volatility and complexity, AI bots have emerged as indispensable tools for traders. Experts argue that the rapid and substantial fluctuations in the market pose challenges to manual trading strategies. Consequently, traders are turning to AI-powered trading bots for their ability to swiftly analyze market data and execute trades.