New Bitcoin upgrade catches hidden key leaks hiding the exact fix
Draft Bitcoin proposal BIP461 standardizes deterministic ECDSA signing so independent signers given the same key and message produce identical signatures. Comparing outputs could reveal a signer that deviates from the specification, potentially exposing firmware that embeds wallet secrets in signatures. A mismatch is only a warning: other valid ECDSA methods may differ, and comparison cannot prove malicious behavior or theft. The approach also requires exposing the secret key to a second signer, and a compromised device could leak selectively. BIP461 was merged into the BIPs repository on Sept. 16, remains a draft, and needs test vectors and a reference implementation. It applies to ECDSA, not the Schnorr scheme used in the Dark Skippy demonstration or Taproot.
