Yeah, it's kind of interesting how Bitcoin is more vulnerable to real life thieves than cash in a bank. Then again, while there are advantages to taking care of your own money, it comes with its own set of complications. It makes you realize that bank withdrawal limits really is a security feature lol.
Either way, I think this issue is somewhat overblown. It really seems to have happened a handful of times, but that's really nothing but a tiny drop in the bucket, much like how there are cases of credit card fraud, but people still use it anyway. I'm all for awareness, but letting people know how much you have is, and always has been, a horrible idea. It kinda sucks that things like this have to happen before people start to realize.
Topic: Threats Prompt Radical Security in Bitcoin Land (Read 141 times)
If you as non public figure just keep your mouth shut, and refrain from bragging about how much you have and made throughout the years, nothing happens. That also means you have to remain low profile with your close friends and family members. In that regard, those who obtained their fresh crypto wealth should stop posting videos on Youtube talking about their life changing investment in crypto, and stop posting on social media with location tags. If you continue with this nonsense, then you don't take crypto serious enough, and that mistake might cost you badly.
https://www.coindesk.com/rich-and-paranoid-threats-prompt-radical-security-in-bitcoinland/
Be safe out there, people.
Quote
"Grumpynitis," as he's known on Reddit, figured he had taken every precaution he needed to protect his crypto assets.
After all, he worked as a security consultant to banks, governments and multinationals. He knew how to thwart hackers.
Then he read about the armed robbery.
And the kidnapping. And the swatting.
And he grew, in his words, "quite paranoid," as he continued to perform his day job and realized the magnitude of the new threats the community was facing.
"It makes you think about what could happen one day," Grumpy told CoinDesk in an email. Shaken, he started taking measures he previously didn’t think necessary.
This should set off alarm bells for non-experts. As cryptocurrency values have climbed, many users have suddenly become very wealthy – and consequently turned into prospective targets for offline criminals as much as online ones.
A number of investors are on high alert and trying to keep low profiles, realizing that not only their money may be at risk, but also their personal safety.
Like Grumpy (who, for obvious reasons, did not want to give his real name or other identifying details), they're taking extra steps to protect their coins – and themselves.
But there's growing concern that not enough users are being so cautious in light of the heightened hazards.
"People, time to change the dialogue," cryptographer Ian Grigg recently tweeted. "Never ever ask someone how much crypto they have, or what crypto they have. Lives are now in danger."
Illustrating the perils facing market participants, in December, Pavel Lerner, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Exmo Finance, was released from the custody of kidnappers after a $1 million bitcoin ransom was paid.
This followed an incident last fall in which New York authorities reported the armed robbery of someone in possession of $1.8 million-worth of ether.
And while it was probably motivated by malice more than greed, a swatting attack on BitGo engineer Jameson Lopp by "angry crypto fans" highlighted how security concerns have spilled over from cyberspace into meatspace. A battalion of local law enforcement cordoned off Lopp's North Carolina neighborhood in response to a false report of hostage incident.
It's against that backdrop that users like Grumpy are adjusting their threat models.
After all, he worked as a security consultant to banks, governments and multinationals. He knew how to thwart hackers.
Then he read about the armed robbery.
And the kidnapping. And the swatting.
And he grew, in his words, "quite paranoid," as he continued to perform his day job and realized the magnitude of the new threats the community was facing.
"It makes you think about what could happen one day," Grumpy told CoinDesk in an email. Shaken, he started taking measures he previously didn’t think necessary.
This should set off alarm bells for non-experts. As cryptocurrency values have climbed, many users have suddenly become very wealthy – and consequently turned into prospective targets for offline criminals as much as online ones.
A number of investors are on high alert and trying to keep low profiles, realizing that not only their money may be at risk, but also their personal safety.
Like Grumpy (who, for obvious reasons, did not want to give his real name or other identifying details), they're taking extra steps to protect their coins – and themselves.
But there's growing concern that not enough users are being so cautious in light of the heightened hazards.
"People, time to change the dialogue," cryptographer Ian Grigg recently tweeted. "Never ever ask someone how much crypto they have, or what crypto they have. Lives are now in danger."
Illustrating the perils facing market participants, in December, Pavel Lerner, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Exmo Finance, was released from the custody of kidnappers after a $1 million bitcoin ransom was paid.
This followed an incident last fall in which New York authorities reported the armed robbery of someone in possession of $1.8 million-worth of ether.
And while it was probably motivated by malice more than greed, a swatting attack on BitGo engineer Jameson Lopp by "angry crypto fans" highlighted how security concerns have spilled over from cyberspace into meatspace. A battalion of local law enforcement cordoned off Lopp's North Carolina neighborhood in response to a false report of hostage incident.
It's against that backdrop that users like Grumpy are adjusting their threat models.
Be safe out there, people.
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