The crypto space has been recently eager with all-time highs and some of the most industry-changing hacks ever known to man. A situation that can pass as an irony considering the blockchain framework is nearly impregnable and has multiple fail-safes to cover up for the available hacking footprint.
No one is untouchable by hackers, as a few seconds of snooze is all it takes for them to run through your wallet and take your coins. According to a report by Elliptic, about USD 12 billion has been lost to malicious actors across decentralized apps. And the year is yet to come to a close. This signifies a 600% increase in funds stolen compared to the figures of 2020.
Considering that the past 12 months have recorded some of the most impressive numbers in adoption and growth rates of the blockchain industry, one would have surmised that mistakes as flimsy as private key leaks would have gone obsolete. But that is not the case. However, security protocols like Lossless have been able to develop ingenious solutions to forestalling scam attempts by rewarding reports and freezing stolen tokens.
Without a doubt, these security blocks by Lossless will disinterest scammers going forward, but learning how to secure your crypto wallet will have a more lasting and potentiating effect. With that being said, let’s explore a few ways you can keep your crypto assets secure and safer.
Always Ensure You Enter the Correct URL
Hackers have become incredibly crafty by banking on your ability to overlook slight deviations in a website address. These unruly elements design websites that closely resemble your favorite crypto projects/exchanges.
The deviations may not be as apparent as the top-level domain at the end of a URL or misspelling the domain name. An accentuation of a letter in the address may be all it takes to mislead you. So you must be suspicious of every link sent to your email until proven otherwise harmless.
Use Strong Passwords and Change Them Regularly
Do not mistake using the passwords you use to access other platforms to access your wallet(s). Ensure that the password used is at least 16 letters long, unique to your account, and devoid of personal details like date of birth or your spouse’s name. To save you the stress of thinking up and remembering unique passwords that long, use trusted password managers like 1Password and Dashlane.
Use Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
It is advisable to have your 2FA set up in a scenario where your password and personal details have been compromised. Two-factor authentication acts as a second security layer, especially when the system suspects that you are logged in from a different device or location. We advise you to set up your account to require both your password and 2FA for every login.
To further thin down the possibility of remote access by these intruders, use the SMS message 2FA option ONLY in the absence of the hardware security key and authenticator app options. Do not use any platform that does not support the use of 2FA.
Be Dynamic in The Storage of Your Crypto Assets
Some authorities would advise that you use only one type of wallet but often forget that users’ activities greatly influence how they store their assets as no one is the most ideal. Understanding the not so intricate usage of wallets requires getting acquainted with the many forms of wallets.
Hot wallets are internet-supported, but cold wallets are not. Hot wallets are the most commonly used because of the convenience of their ready-to-use nature. However, its top-notch user experience comes at the possibility of exposing your private keys. Hardware wallets are the safest within the relatively safe category of cold wallets.
Custodial wallets are wallets where users’ private keys are controlled by third-party applications like centralized exchanges. With non-custodial wallets, users control their private keys, and ultimately, their crypto assets. The main difference between both wallet types security-wise is that with the former the platform handles the security of your assets, but with the latter security is entirely up to you. As a result, losing your private keys translates to “money gone”.
One thing holds true for all users irrespective of how they interact with their wallets: store the majority of your assets in a cold wallet and store the private key in a safe deposit box. The rest of your crypto assets can then be spread across multiple platforms you operate.
Ensure Internet Connection is Secure and Device Software is Up-to-date
It would be counter-productive to take the above measures and still connect your device to a public/unsafe network. If you must use public WiFi, use VPNs to create a secure network and reduce the chance of data exposure to prying eyes.
In addition, ensure that your device’s software and security patch is up-to-date. If you access your wallet on a device with older software, chances are that the security framework can be easily compromised.
Use Multi-signature Setup Where Necessary
The multi-signature setup is built for funds transfer only to be possible if multiple users authorize the transaction. This is especially useful when the tokens in a wallet are owned by an organization, or you just want to take extra precautionary steps.
Never Share Your Seed Phrase
No platform’s representative will ask you for your seed phrase in return for a too-good-to-be-true return on your investment. A seed phrase is your personal backpass to accessing your wallet. They are typically 12, 18, or 24-word hyper-random readable phrases. You must not store your seed phrase on an online device because it can be accessed through phishing attacks, hacks, or computer viruses. Writing down the phrases on a paper is just as insecure as it can go missing and can be found by anyone. For this reason, store your seed phrase in a safe or with your bank.
On a Final Note
We at Lossless have made it our life’s work to reduce to the nearest minimum the occurrence of avoidable loss of cryptocurrencies by any means. While we have been working hard to develop tools and protocols to tackle whatever tricks hackers employ, we have found out that little gaps at the end of the user sometimes create the necessary entry point for malicious actors to act. Hence, pattern your activities in line with the best practices so that we can reach our goal of ensuring you lose less cash with our protocols.
Read through our blog for more educational articles.
About Lossless
Lossless is the world’s first DeFi hack mitigation tool for token creators. Apart from our known cyber security solutions and renowned professionals, the community also plays a role. With a tangible reward system, community members are also encouraged to explore new ways to detect hacks and fraudulent transactions.
Our protocol halts counterfeit transactions through various methods of fraud identification and automatically reverses any stolen tokens back to the original owner. Our solutions to the impending problems of cyber theft within the blockchain space are thorough and applicable within many protocols.
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