Biggest Crypto Exchange Hacked For $280 Million | How To Protect Yourself

[cryptodabbin]

KuCoin, one of the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, has been hit by a $280M hack— just the latest in a string of thefts in the crypto world. The Seychelles-based announced in a blog post on Saturday noting “We detected some large withdrawals since September 26, 2020 at 03:05:37 (UTC+8). According to the latest internal security audit report, part of Bitcoin, ERC-20 and other tokens in KuCoin’s hot wallets were transferred out of the exchange.”

KuCoin has suspended withdrawals for the time being but promised to cover any losses with the launch of its new initiative, “Safeguard Program.” The program will provide a comprehensive protection and support for individuals and institutions who are affected by such security incidents.

Given the security breach, regardless of the fact that major breaches, such as this one, have historically culminated in market-wide sell-offs, the price of most leading cryptos like Bitcoin, as well as DeFi tokens, barely displayed any negative action. KuCoin is one of the main exchanges for Bitcoin volumes and is seen as one of the industry's most reliable exchanges.

KuCoin has been recognized because of its integrity in the industry and the fact that hackers were able to penetrate one of the exchange's hot wallet containing around a small percent of the company 's holdings using advanced techniques is worrying. It's true, perhaps, that crypto platforms are not resistant to targeted attacks. According to a recent study from the cryptocurrency audit firm CipherTrace, $1.36 billion worth of cryptocurrency was lost through hacking, scams, and fraud during the first five months of 2020.

Vulnerability To Hacks
Since 2014, when MtGox, then the world's largest Bitcoin exchange, lost $450m in an attack, crypto has had an unwanted relation with hacking. Its easy to discern why exchanges like Binance and now KuCoin are some of the primary targets, since they possess huge pools of crypto funds. Exchange providers market stocks or currencies, however once people trade, assets are deposited with specialist custodians. Although this form of approach has become increasingly popular in crypto, it is still far from the standard. Most exchanges both build markets and keep the cryptocurrencies of users for them.

The problem is that this generates vast reserves of consumer funds that generate enticing objectives. While, as a custodian, these exchanges specialize in security, they are still seen as a viable target. In the more than hundreds of exchanges around the world, security standards can vary greatly. Crypto is still a comparatively small industry and has international standards yet to be set. It has no central authority to make sure everyone keeps up standards even if they did exist. As the KuCoin case illustrates, even those who uphold the highest standards may be vulnerable to attack.

“As a crypto team just turned 3 years old, although we never slack off on security-related issues, we couldn’t dodge the cruelest coming-of-age ceremony that every predecessor used to embrace,” KuCoin Global CEO Johnny Lyu noted. “Luckily, we have the most saturated aid from the whole crypto community, which equipped us with the strongest power to crack such a hard nut.”

Securing Your Hard-Earned Money
A key trait is to place your crypto instead of keeping it on an exchange, is in a personal "cold wallet." Hackers or scammers simply will not be able to access your crypto there, as long as it's not connected to the internet. However, the chance of loss is increased by a "cold wallet." Make sure you carefully secure the key to the wallet and don't lose your hard drives or USB stick. If you have decided to keep your funds in a "hot wallet," make sure you are informed about the risks, either on your own or on an exchange

Another specific risk would be an exit scheme, where people raise funds for fraudulent projects or fake exchange losses before making off with customer funds. Overall, educating yourself on these risks and more is the best way to secure yourself. The exchanges you use or the investments you make in space are carefully researched. As long as there are no central bodies or legislation imposing guidelines or certifying agencies, consumers are responsible for investigating risks.

[Altcoin1998$]

Kucoin hacked is the sad news for us because we already missed our favourite dia project bounty campaign rewards. Hackers hacked 3M dia issue to team refuse to keep promises.

[syedrasool2011]

yes that so sad news but the good news is for kucoin member is there money will return to them that is trust of exchange kucoin is trusted exchange keep your money safe there.

[pornflixandchill]

i'm not sure if Kucoin is really the biggest exchange, right now Binance is.

However, the reputation of Kucoin is also good.
So i think we got to be more careful too because if Kucoin can get hacked, Binance can get hacked again too.

[Fivestar4everMVP]

i'm not sure if Kucoin is really the biggest exchange, right now Binance is.

However, the reputation of Kucoin is also good.
So i think we got to be more careful too because if Kucoin can get hacked, Binance can get hacked again too.

I don't think KuCoin or neither binance is the biggest crypto hack, have anyone thought about MTGOX?, calculate bitcoins stolen from that exchange and times it by today's bitcoin price.

[Renampun]

storing large funds in an exchange wallet is really very high risk...
but surely traders will save their funds for trading, my advice is to use a trusted exchange and use all the security systems that the exchange provides.

[bigcash2011]

Big exchanges with millions in users funds should adopt multi level security and hacker proof networks should be used to make sure that no one has access to highly sensitive data.
According to recent updates, Kucoin CEO has announced that they have traced and caught the hacker and majority of funds have been recovered which is great.

[hair]

I don't think KuCoin or neither binance is the biggest crypto hack, have anyone thought about MTGOX?, calculate bitcoins stolen from that exchange and times it by today's bitcoin price.

I've never heard of the MTGOX case? how many dollars was hacked? do users get their refund insurance like Kucoin and Binance?

[ShadowCrypto]

Big exchanges like Kucoin and Binance have some insurace funds, so you will not lose your money if someone hacks the exchange, all god, just small exchanges have this problem

[Black ID]

the simplest way is not to store too many assets in exchange. Because no matter how sophisticated the exchange system is, it is definitely very risky. Better to store assets in a wallet and give keys. In addition, we must always be careful when sending tokens.

[ashraf786100]

Hacking cocaine is bad news for us because we have already lost our favorite Project waste campaign rewards. The hackers the 3M token hacked the Media issue and refused to make promises.

[TERMINO]

Good to maintain the safetiness and security of your wall as long as you can.Despite we have cold or hard wallet that we all know are all secure.
But, Today, I don't know how we can fully safeguard ourselves against the hackers attack if we all know that they are much better than we thought. I'm not praising them but I think that's the reality. We did not imagined KuCoin to be hacked nor Binance. We all know they are secure and strong exchange. Unfortunately, the attacked had happened.
We all sick from stealing, scammers, and hurtful uncertainties.
I think it is not bad if I say,
I wish no bad things to happen anymore.

[masterrex]

I think there's something wrong with that amount $280 Million is too big according to some reliable sources the estimates were just roughly worth $150-$200 Million respectively But I agree its a very unfortunate incident and a serious threat to all cryptocurrency exchange that needs to be addressed.

[labonikhatun]

Crypto is a very good platform for exchanging but as the demand for crypto increases so does the number of scammers you are right that we should all try to deal with it and at the same time try to maintain a well-checked and safe currency. Stay away from hacked exchange sites.

[Hometown]

Not only kucoin but also another big exchange Binance also hacked several months ago. So hacking problems is a common feature in cryptocurrency market cap. But one can't share personally with others.