Hacking is a serious problem in the crypto market today. There are a growing number of hackers with different strategies to take cryptos from their victims. Both investors and crypto exchanges could become a victim of hackers considering the sophistication of their operations. In fact, AT&T is currently facing a lawsuit against a crypto investor who got his crypto stolen after hackers were able to obtain the victim’s number.
Michael Terpin, the founder of Transform Group and BitAngels filing a lawsuit against AT&T can become a trend. It is the first of its kind arguing that AT&T did not do enough in order to protect his phone number.
And this isn’t the only case of cryptocurrency theft. In July, there was a case that involved a 20-year old being part of a group who stole cryptocurrencies from more than 40 victims. The amount of cryptocurrency stolen was valued at around $5 million.
Sim Swap
Sim swapping is among the most common strategies used by hackers in order to obtain a person’s private key. How exactly does it work? What people don’t realize is that they have a lot of information stored with their phone number. Some individuals today make use of their phones in order to log in to their email and even their social media account.
Chinese Hacker
In China, Chinese police arrested three suspects tied to a hacking incident where $87 million-worth of cryptocurrency was stolen by the cybercriminals via hacking. The police in the northern city of Xian has been investigating the case since March when a victim came forward claiming that hackers were able to steal around $15 million worth of cryptocurrency from his computer.
The $15 million worth of cryptos stolen was a combination of both Bitcoin and Ether digital currencies according to the report.
Virtual Trail
Using crypto forensics, the police were able to trace to suspects in the province of Hunan. The police made use of this virtual trail to track down the suspects and made use of communications to track down two more suspects. The three suspects have allegedly hacked a combined $87 million. It took officers from three different provinces in order to make the arrest.
Hacking and Regulatory Changes
Hacking incidences are quite rampant to the point that Japan has decided to make the necessary changes in its crypto regulations. Now, cryptocurrency exchanges need to ensure that they are going to comply to the new rules before they can even operate in the country. And for this reason, Kraken decided to leave Japan.
Possible Solutions to Hacking
Considering hacking incidences, it is highly recommended that investors take their cryptocurrencies in cold storage. This simply means that you don’t store your cryptocurrency online where it is vulnerable for hackers to acquire your cryptos.
There are new technologies such as the Bitfy cryptocurrency wallet that has been touted as an unhackable system. Unfortunately, it appears to have been hacked just a week after its launch. This crypto wallet is backed by John McAfee. It claims to have a “fortress-like” security and even claimed that “security is absolute and that the wallet cannot be hacked or penetrated by outside attacks”.
