Can YOUR bitcoin be hacked? Security expert warns cyber attacks WILL get worse
BITCOIN trading is the current craze among tech-savvy investors trying to make the most of its soaring price, but behind the scenes the world of cryptocurrency is rife with cyber criminals, cryptojacking and money laundering.
By SEBASTIAN KETTLEY
Express.co.uk
Sat, Jan 27, 2018
A security expert has warned investors to keep digital tokens safe, claiming it is “only the beginning” for bitcoin.
Tyler Moffitt, senior threat research analyst at Webroot, stressed the importance of keeping your bitcoin safe in the wake of numerous cyber attacks on wallet providers and crypto exchanges.
His warning comes after Japanese exchange Coincheck found $500million had been stolen in Nem coins after hackers struck in what appears to be the biggest cyber attack in the history of cryptocurrency.
Following bitcoin’s incredible bull run through 2017, the virtual currency has attracted the attention of investors, traders and organised criminals with the technical knowhow on how to target owners.
But Mr Moffitt told Express.co.uk: “I would have thought the attacks would have been more frequent than we are currently seeing – it looks like every month there is a large amount of tokens stolen from an exchange.
“I think now is the beginning because more and more people are aware of cryptocurrencies, more people are buying them and there will be more adoption.
“I believe that we’re at the beginning for sure and it’s going to continue and this isn’t the end.”
The key to keeping your bitcoin wallet and its contents safe, is to keep your private key – a wallet password of sorts – securely hidden away from sight, especially that of strangers.
Mr Moffitt personally keeps his wallet address and private key written down on a piece of paper which he keeps in a safe, jut like he would with any lump sum of money.
There are however other ways to store your bitcoin. You could place your trust in a crypto exchange website, and store your tokens online.
But as time and time again shows, this is perhaps the easiest way to fall foul of cyber criminals and other online security threats.
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