2020-12-2 18:08 |
The crypto industry has been significantly quiet when it comes to security breaches this year. However, several scattered occurrences show that security remains a top issue for the space.
The latest platform to have suffered a breach is BTC Markets, Australia's largest exchange.
Source: Reddit A Self-Inflicted BreachIn a tweet, the Aussie exchange explained that it had accidentally revealed its customers' details in a marketing mishap earlier this week.
BTC Markets had reportedly sent a marketing email to its users on Monday, accidentally exposing their names and email addresses in the process.
The promotional email was meant to announce the Tether pairings scheduled to start tomorrow and the Spark token airdrop scheduled for December 12.
BTC Markets explained that their Email testing system had not noticed that sample Emails in batches were sent to the same email – instead of being sent individually.
The firm added that the batch sends out fast. So, while they noticed the issue early, it was impossible to reverse the action.
The mails were sent in batches of 1,000, meaning that each customer got the details of 999 others. BTC Markets' chief executive Caroline Bowler assured users that the breach didn't affect their funds or passwords.
While no loss of funds is expected from this breach, it still exposes customers to potential phishing attacks.
BTC Markets also confirmed that it had self-reported to the Office of Australian Information Controller. The exchange added that it would conduct an internal security review and commit to stronger security training regimens.
The firm expressed its heartfelt apologies. It also recommended that customers change their passwords and enable two-factor authentication to protect their accounts.
Threats Could RiseWhile BTC Markets' issue appears to have been a case of subpar operations, exchanges might want to watch out going forward as analysts believe that hacks could be on the rise.
As reported by Bitcoin Exchange Guide, cybersecurity solutions provider Kaspersky Labs believes the post-COVID period could create an increase in bitcoin attacks. Compiled by cyberthreat division Securelist, the report explained that the post-COVID era would leave many people destitute. Unemployment could still be on the rise as companies try to stabilize their operations.
Facing no other option, many laid-off workers could turn to cybercrime to pay the bulls. With the Bitcoin price amid a rally, the asset will be more attractive to criminals.
“We might see certain economies crashing and local currencies plummeting, which would make Bitcoin theft a lot more attractive. We should expect more fraud, targeting mostly BTC, due to this cryptocurrency being the most popular one,” the report highlighted.
Securelist also pointed out that hacks could focus on Monero – a privacy-focused asset notorious for being challenging to track. With traditional cryptos being easier to track, hackers could turn to privacy coins to easily launder their gains.
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