By Nick Percoco, Kraken security director
Each year, cryptographic conferences become larger and become more global. From New York to Dubai in Singapore, there are opportunities in person to engage with peers through the cryptographic community. These gatherings are a sign that the crypto has reached a inflection point in traditional adoption.
But with this growth, a silent but disturbing trend has also emerged: personal safety hygiene during cryptographic conferences took a rear seat. This trend has surfaced before recent high -level cryptography kidnappings. Unfortunately, the cryptographic community is embarrassed to display publicly and openly discuss cryptographic subjects – even wealth and high -value trades – in public circles.
Crypto, at the base, is to be your own bank. And it is incredibly difficult (if not impossible) to carry out the promise of financial freedom if your personal security and your operational security (opse) are not priority.
Kraken’s dedicated security team followed this trend during industry conferences. Here is what they see and what each participant needs to keep in mind:
The basic consciousness of the situation is often ignored
By walking in networking events and expo areas, our teams have identified unmanned computers belonging to popular crypto protocols left open and unlocked on work parameters. Likewise, they have highlighted many cases of unattended phones on tables, even when notifications of pinging wallet in real time.
If you are in crypto, your digital device is not only a phone or a laptop. It is a safe for you, your cryptocurrency and the exploitation of your larger employer. Always keep your devices nearby and locked when you don’t use them.
Openly disseminate wealth and high -value trades
One of the members of our team came out of their hotel room one evening, several kilometers from a conference place, and met several participants discussing high -value professions while carrying lanes of the conference which included their name and their company.
Even if you don’t think someone listening, someone could very well be. Be discreet to protect yourself and protect those around you.
Public spaces are not secure
Just as you would not blindly trust WiFi in a very frequented cafe, you should be even more careful during cryptographic conferences. Public networks can be easily usurped or compromised, and cryptographic events are full of highly technical individuals, including those who have hacking skills. It takes only a bad actor to exploit an unprotected connection.
Think twice before scanning the QR codes
They are everywhere during cryptographic events, from gifts to product demos, but each scan can expose your portfolio to malicious intelligent contracts designed to drain your wallet. It takes only one sticker exchange for a bad actor to replace a legitimate QR code on marketing equipment with a false, by putting dozens (if not hundreds) of participants in danger.
Although we have not seen recent relationships on this subject in nature, the risk remains real. A safer approach is to use a burners portfolio with limited funds specifically for conference activities. In this way, if something is wrong, your main assets remain protected.
Be careful who you trust and what you reveal
Everyone in a conference t-shirt is not what they say to be. It is very easy to build cover stories and register under false characters, when they are at events. We always recommend checking identities and limiting sensitive conversations to secure channels, or as follow -up after events in person. If it seems too good to be true, this is probably the case.
But that’s not all. Our team is perfectly aware of the less obvious risks, but just as serious, associated with participation in events. Always keep close attention to your food and drinks; Falsification, although rare, is a real threat, especially in high issues environments.
Likewise, the compromise of the device is easier than most do it. A current tactic is the juice, where malicious USB loading stations are used to install malware or steal data. Our recommendation is simple: always use your own wall adapter and load cable. If it means a quick trip to your hotel room, it is a small price to pay to ensure the safety of your digital assets.
While the crypto continues to grow and mature, our approach to security must remain without compromise
The more visible and common industry, the more attractive we are for bad players, the easier it is for the complacency to undermine progress. It’s time to get back to the point. In the environment with high issues today, the complacency of cryptography is not only a personal risk, it is a threat to our broader movement.
