Crypto hacks: Is your bitcoin investment safe?

Story by: Daniel Shane

It’s not just the volatile price of bitcoin that can keep cryptocurrency investors up at night.

Hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of digital currencies have been stolen by hackers in recent months. Experts say the problem is unlikely to go away anytime soon, and fears about security have hit prices this year.

In the latest incident, South Korean exchange Coinrail announced Monday that it had been targeted by cyberthieves, who stole about 30% of its virtual currencies.

“I expect hackers to continue to target crypto exchanges,” said Henri Arslanian, the head of financial technology in Asia at consultancy PwC. “The rewards are high, and some of these exchanges grew so fast” that they haven’t yet implemented proper security, he added.

In January, Japanese exchange Coincheck said hackers stole more than $500 million worth of cryptocurrency. Last year, two bitcoin exchanges went bankrupt after falling victim to similar breaches.

Original story: http://money.cnn.com/2018/06/13/investing/bitcoin-cryptocurrency-hacks-security/index.html

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