Bitcoin exchange hit by cyber attack

Online Bitcoin exchange Bitstamp has been forced to halt withdrawals following a cyber-attack, which exploited a design element of Bitcoin, reports Bloomberg Businessweek.

A security expert told the news agency that the denial-of-service attack was "a nuisance attack," adding that "funds have not been lost… (but) what it's done is slow down their accounting system from reconciling transactions." Meanwhile, a Bitcoin software developer said some Bitcoin wallet software users would need to upgrade their programs to tackle further attacks.

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