$731 Million Stolen from Crypto Exchanges in 2018: Can Hacks be Prevented?

Blockchain security firm CipherTrace recently reported that $731 million worth of cryptocurrencies were stolen from crypto exchanges during the first half of 2018.

Last year, crypto exchanges recorded around $266 million in losses from security breaches and heists. The first half of 2018 recorded triple the amount stolen from crypto exchanges in 2017, triggering investors in the cryptocurrency space to develop concerns regarding the standard of security measures implemented by crypto trading platforms.

Two of the biggest crypto exchange hacks in 2018 were the $500 million Coincheck hack in Japan and the $40 million Coinrail hack in South Korea. Both exchanges stored an unusually large amount of crypto assets in their hot wallets, or wallets connected to the internet, instead of cold wallets stored offline.

As such, as soon as hackers gained access to the system of Coincheck and Coinrail, they were immediately able to steal hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrencies without any hurdle.

However, the statement was released after a controversial press conference regarding the hacking attack that prompted investors to outrage over the company’s attitude about its infrastructure. Merely days after the breach, Coincheck held a press conference to outline the company’s future and the method that will be used to deal with the breach.

Japan and South Korea, two countries that experienced the largest security breaches in 2018, have already started to implement strict regulatory policies to establish industry standards regarding cryptocurrency exchange security.

Источник: FxTeam Source: obzor-finance-pressa