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Hackers Have Stolen a Record $3 billion in Cryptocurrency this Year- How to Safeguard Your Assets
Hackers have stolen from individuals, exchanges, DeFi and this has been a landmark month, with $718 million taken. In total, hackers have stolen approximately $3 billion in cryptocurrency from users in 2022, and the year isn’t even over. Cryptocurrency is not regulated, and if stolen, the only person who can refund you is the hacker themselves. With losses mounting, how can cryptocurrency users safeguard their assets from thieves?
How can users of cryptocurrency safeguard their assets?
Today’s hackers have changed their focus from exchanges to DeFi platforms and protocols. High-profile exchange hacks have declined, and thieves have focused on exploiting DeFi. Some major high-profile hacks included Binance for $100-200 million and Harmony for $100 million. DeFi is a tempting target for hackers, and the larger the balance stored in these systems, the more tempting they are. Exploits are developed and cryptocurrency is withdrawn.
Get a hardware wallet that stores your private key, do not store your coins on exchanges and safeguard your private keys and seed phrases outside of email accounts are all good general safety rules for keeping your cryptocurrency assets safe. Having a cold wallet such as a Ledger or Trezor is a great way to keep yourself from thieves and hackers. With the shift from exchange hacks to DeFi, it would be wise to store your cryptocurrency off both exchanges and DeFi until security and regulations catch up to the threats. Users need to be aware of common phishing techniques and check the website addresses of exchanges and protocols before depositing assets or entering their passwords. The largest exchanges and protocols have been hacked, which means that all though security is improving, risk still exists and users need to be aware. White-hat hackers may return assets and alert protocol administrators of vulnerabilities which helps to improve security, but the fact that so many loopholes exist in these protocols for exploit is a red flag- you need to evaluate DeFi and do your due diligence.
The unregulated nature of the cryptocurrency market means that users stand to lose assets and have no chance of reimbursement. Hacks and phishing are common in all industries where assets change hands, but banks regularly reimburse victims of fraud. It is up to you to avoid scams.