How A Cryptocurrency Exchange Can Be Hacked And Common Measures Against It

With many amateur crypto traders and retail investors beginning to lose interest in the fast-growing fintech industry because of the long decline on the digital currency market, big names are just starting to develop new opportunities that have huge potential. Given this, it is likely that hackers will target this industry very heavily.

Phishing Emails

In a case when the cryptocurrency exchange detected suspicious activity in your account, it sends you a hyperlink and a recommendation to change the password. Having followed the link, you need to enter the old password, the new one and confirmation of it. Thus, traders give swindlers their passwords without realizing the fact.

In order to prevent your funds from being stolen, don’t open emails from unknown addresses and avoid sending your personal data to third parties. It is recommended to study thoroughly the sender’s email: it must contain only the official domain of the crypto exchange.

Phishing Sites

Look carefully at the name of an exchange in the address bar, because phishing sites contain some mistakes like misspellings. When your personal information is entered in such systems, fraudsters get the access to your account.

To avoid such a scam, the user needs to be very attentive to details. Bookmarking your cryptocurrency trading platform will help you to visit only the correct website. Try to use a good VPN that will encrypt your traffic.

Email Hacking

The email connected to your account on the cryptocurrency server can be the hacker’s target as much as the account itself. After gaining control over your e-mail, the criminal can send a request for password recovery, put a new password and easily steal your funds. Taking all the facts into consideration, two-factor authentication (2FA) is the best security tool in this case, because it avoids giving a third-party an access to your account.

TeamViewer Weakness

Unfortunately, even 2FA does not provide maximum security if Google Authenticator is embedded in a web browser on a PC. With the TeamViewer tool installed, the probability that an attacker will gain access to real-time TOTP authentication codes will allow them to crack your account on the exchange.

2FA acts as long as the app is installed on another device, for example, a smartphone. Such measures reduce the risk of serious hacking.