Noted bitcoin security expert Hartej Sawhney has stated that around $2.5 million, on an average, is stolen on a daily basis from cryptocurrency exchanges all over the world, a statement which would do little to soften the skepticism about the security of such assets.
Sawhney, the co-founder of Hosho.io, made these statements during a CNBC show on cryptocurrency trading during which he highlighted several security issues associated with the technology and how they are taken advantage of by hackers.
Speaking to CNBC, Sawhney called for cryptocurrency currency exchanges to be more careful with respect to how they hold private keys for both hot and cold wallets. Stating that most cryptocurrency exchanges are low-hanging fruits for hackers, he added:
“Exchanges need to learn to value security, but they are not getting regular penetration testing from cybersecurity companies.”
Hartej Sawhney finally went on to bemoan the lack of full-stack developers who know Solidity and have a QA mindset as one of the reasons why cryptocurrency exchanges don’t always audit their security code and become easy prey for hackers who go AWOL with millions of dollars in digital assets.
His statements are unlikely to quell an industry that has seen several instances of hacking and cryptocurrency theft over the past year. Recently, $16 million worth of cryptocurrencies were stolen after New Zealand-based exchange, Cryptopia was hacked.
Money alone has not been a target for hackers. There have been cases where hackers have advertised personal user data for sales gathered after hacks. Each of these cases suggests that despite the assumed impenetrability of bitcoin, there remain loopholes in the security system that guards this technology.
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Published at Wed, 23 Jan 2019 18:03:44 +0000
