This document outlines security practices, policies, and procedures for the Ethereum Address Collider project.

• Purpose and Scope
• Security Practices
• Vulnerability Reporting
• Secure Usage Guidelines
• Cryptographic Security
• API Security
• Code Security
• Privacy Policy

Ethereum Address Collider is an educational tool designed to demonstrate cryptographic principles. It is NOT intended for:

• ❌ Unauthorized access to cryptocurrency wallets
• ❌ Breaking blockchain security
• ❌ Malicious or illegal activities
• ❌ Financial gain through collision attacks

This project aims to:

1. ✅ Educate users about cryptographic security
2. ✅ Demonstrate secure coding practices
3. ✅ Follow responsible disclosure principles
4. ✅ Protect user privacy and API keys
5. ✅ Maintain code integrity and transparency

What: API keys are never hardcoded in source code.

Why: Prevents accidental exposure in version control, public repositories, or logs.

Implementation:

api_key = os.getenv('ETHERSCAN_API_KEY', '')

Best Practice:

• Never commit .env files
• Use .env.example as template
• Add .env to .gitignore

What: Uses operating system's cryptographically secure random source.

Why: Ensures unpredictability and proper entropy.

Implementation:

• Unix/Linux: /dev/urandom
• Windows: CryptGenRandom
• Python: os.urandom(32)

Quality:

# Cryptographically secure
os.urandom(32)  # Returns 32 bytes of crypto-quality random data

# NOT secure (don't use for crypto)
random.randint()  # Pseudo-random, predictable

What: All external inputs are validated before processing.

Implementation:

• API responses checked for expected format
• JSON parsing wrapped in try/except
• Type checking on critical operations
• Range validation for cryptographic values

Example:

# Validate API response
if data.get('status') == '1':
    balance = data.get('result', '0')
else:
    # Handle error safely
    print(f"API Error: {data.get('message', 'Unknown')}")

What: Comprehensive exception handling prevents information leakage.

Why: Prevents attackers from gathering system information through error messages.

Implementation:

• All network operations wrapped in try/except
• Generic error messages for users
• Detailed errors only in debug mode (if implemented)
• No sensitive data in error output

What: Respects API rate limits to prevent abuse.

Implementation:

• 0.2 second delay between requests (5 req/sec)
• Retry logic with exponential backoff
• Daily request tracking (if needed)

Why: Prevents account suspension and ensures fair API usage.

What: Uses multiprocessing for worker isolation.

Benefits:

• Memory isolation between workers
• Crash in one worker doesn't affect others
• Secure inter-process communication via queues

What: Minimal dependencies, only well-maintained packages.

Current Dependencies:

• requests - HTTP library (widely used, maintained)

Monitoring:

• Regular security audits
• Dependency version pinning
• Automated vulnerability scanning (recommended)

If you discover a security vulnerability, please follow responsible disclosure:

• ❌ Open a public GitHub issue
• ❌ Post on social media
• ❌ Share details publicly before fix
• ❌ Exploit the vulnerability

Email: Pierce.trent@gmail.com

Subject: [SECURITY] Ethereum Address Collider Vulnerability

Include:

1. Description of the vulnerability
2. Steps to reproduce
3. Potential impact
4. Suggested fix (if available)
5. Your contact information for follow-up

Example Report:

Subject: [SECURITY] Ethereum Address Collider Vulnerability

Description:
Found an issue in [component] that allows [attack].

Steps to Reproduce:
1. [Step 1]
2. [Step 2]
3. [Result]

Impact:
This could allow an attacker to [consequence].

Suggested Fix:
Consider implementing [solution].

Contact: your.email@example.com

• 24 hours: Initial acknowledgment
• 72 hours: Preliminary assessment
• 7 days: Detailed response with timeline
• 30 days: Fix implementation and release

We will credit security researchers in:

• CHANGELOG.md
• Security advisory (if applicable)
• README acknowledgments

Unless you prefer to remain anonymous.

Currently, we do not offer a paid bug bounty program. However:

• We deeply appreciate responsible disclosure
• We will publicly credit researchers
• We may offer donations as thanks

DO:

• ✅ Use environment variables
• ✅ Keep API keys private
• ✅ Use separate keys for different projects
• ✅ Rotate keys periodically
• ✅ Monitor API usage on Etherscan

DON'T:

• ❌ Commit API keys to Git
• ❌ Share keys publicly
• ❌ Use production keys for testing
• ❌ Hardcode keys in source files
• ❌ Log API keys

# Search Git history for accidentally committed keys
git log -p | grep -i "api.*key"

# Use tools like git-secrets
git secrets --scan

If exposed:

1. Immediately rotate the key on Etherscan
2. Check API usage logs for abuse
3. Generate new key
4. Update environment variable

# Use test API key for development
export ETHERSCAN_API_KEY='test_key_only'

# Never use real keys in CI/CD without encryption
# Use GitHub Secrets or similar

Before submitting code:

• No hardcoded secrets
• Input validation present
• Error handling implemented
• No sensitive data in logs
• Dependencies up to date
• Type hints used where applicable
• Security best practices followed

String Formatting:

# Safe - no injection possible
f"Address: {address}"

# Avoid eval() or exec() with user input
# NEVER:
eval(user_input)  # Dangerous!

File Operations:

# Safe - controlled path
with open('priv.prv', 'w') as f:
    f.write(data)

# Avoid - path traversal possible
# NEVER:
with open(user_provided_path, 'w') as f:  # Dangerous!

API Calls:

# Safe - uses https, validates response
response = requests.get(url, timeout=10)
if response.status_code == 200:
    data = response.json()

# Avoid - no validation
# RISKY:
data = eval(response.text)  # Dangerous!

Properties:

• Curve equation: y² = x³ + 7
• Order: ~2^256
• Used by: Bitcoin, Ethereum
• Security level: 128-bit (equivalent)

Implementation:

• Pure Python implementation
• No side-channel attacks (not constant-time, educational only)
• Uses pre-computed tables for performance

SHA-256:

• 256-bit output
• Used for random number generation
• NIST standard

Keccak-256 (SHA-3):

• 256-bit output
• Used for Ethereum address derivation
• Based on sponge construction

✅ Random Key Generation:

• Keys are unpredictable
• Uniform distribution
• Sufficient entropy (256 bits)

✅ Correct Implementation:

• Follows Ethereum standards
• Generates valid addresses
• Proper key derivation

❌ Constant-Time Operations:

• Not protected against timing attacks
• Educational code, not production crypto library

❌ Side-Channel Protection:

• May leak information through cache, power, etc.
• Not suitable for high-security applications

❌ Quantum Resistance:

• secp256k1 is not quantum-resistant
• Shor's algorithm could theoretically break it (future quantum computers)

Private Key:

• Size: 256 bits
• Range: 1 to 0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFEBAAEDCE6AF48A03BBFD25E8CD0364140
• Security: 128-bit (birthday bound)

Address:

• Size: 160 bits (20 bytes)
• Format: Last 20 bytes of Keccak-256(public_key)
• Collision resistance: 2^160 operations

Free Tier:

• 5 requests per second
• 100,000 requests per day

This Tool's Limits:

• 0.2 seconds between requests (5 req/sec)
• Respects free tier limits

Data Privacy:

• Etherscan logs API requests
• Addresses checked are visible to Etherscan
• No personal data transmitted
• IP address recorded by Etherscan

API Key Security:

• Never shared between users
• Unique per user
• Free to generate
• Rotatable at any time

Request Security:

• Uses HTTPS only
• Validates SSL certificates
• Timeout protection (10 seconds)
• Retry logic for failures

# Implemented protections:

# 1. Rate limiting
time.sleep(0.2)  # 5 req/sec max

# 2. Timeout
requests.get(url, timeout=10)

# 3. Error handling
try:
    response = requests.get(url)
except requests.exceptions.RequestException:
    # Handle gracefully
    pass

# 4. Retry logic
for attempt in range(max_retries):
    try:
        response = requests.get(url)
        break
    except:
        time.sleep(retry_delay)

Recommended tools:

# Bandit - Security linter
pip install bandit
bandit -r . -ll

# Safety - Dependency checker
pip install safety
safety check

# Pylint - Code quality
pip install pylint
pylint EthCollider.py

Current Policy:

1. Minimal dependencies (only requests)
2. Pin major versions in requirements.txt
3. Regular updates for security patches
4. Automated scanning (recommended for future)

Update Process:

# Check for updates
pip list --outdated

# Update safely
pip install --upgrade requests

# Test thoroughly
python3 EthCollider.py

# Update requirements.txt
pip freeze > requirements.txt

Future Enhancement:

• GPG signing of commits
• Release verification
• Checksum files for downloads

This tool does NOT collect:

• ❌ User personal information
• ❌ Generated private keys
• ❌ API keys
• ❌ Usage statistics
• ❌ Telemetry data

This tool does access:

• ✅ Etherscan API (you provide the key)
• ✅ Internet (for API calls only)

Etherscan.io:

• Purpose: Check address balances
• Data sent: Ethereum addresses, API key
• Privacy policy: https://etherscan.io/privacy
• Note: They log API requests

Stored locally (only if wallet found):

• priv.prv - Private key file
• found_wallet_*.txt - Wallet details

User Responsibility:

• Protect these files
• Never share private keys
• Delete if no longer needed

Educational Use: ✅ Legal Research: ✅ Legal Learning Cryptography: ✅ Legal

Attempting to access others' wallets: ❌ Illegal Using found keys without permission: ❌ Illegal Circumventing security: ❌ Illegal

Users must:

1. Use for educational purposes only
2. Respect intellectual property
3. Follow applicable laws
4. Not attempt unauthorized access
5. Report vulnerabilities responsibly

This software is provided "AS IS" without warranty of any kind. The author is not responsible for misuse or damages resulting from use of this software.

Watch this repository on GitHub for:

• Security advisories
• Vulnerability patches
• Update notifications

All security-related changes documented in CHANGELOG.md.

Security Issues: Pierce.trent@gmail.com (private)
General Questions: GitHub Issues (public)
Discussions: GitHub Discussions

We thank the security community for responsible disclosure practices and helping keep this project secure.

Last Updated: January 30, 2026
Policy Version: 1.0