Cybersecurity Risks in the Cryptocurrency Industry

cryptonews.com:

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) social media account being compromised is concerning. Impersonations and hacks are nothing new in the cryptocurrency space but could the hack have been avoided?

After the post, the SEC started an internal market manipulation investigation on itself. X, formerly known as Twitter, confirmed the SEC’s account was compromised when it posted the fake spot Bitcoin ETF approval announcement.

Senator Cynthia Lummis tweeted: “Fraudulent announcements, like the one that was made on the SEC’s social media, can manipulate markets. We need transparency on what happened.”

X confirmed that the compromise did not stem from any vulnerability in their systems. Instead, an unidentified individual gained control over a phone number associated with the SEC account through a third party.

We can confirm that the account @SECGov was compromised and we have completed a preliminary investigation. Based on our investigation, the compromise was not due to any breach of X’s systems, but rather due to an unidentified individual obtaining control over a phone number…

— Safety (@Safety) January 10, 2024

In turn, the SEC then tweeted the importance of protecting your investment accounts. Despite the false announcement, analysts believe that this security lapse won’t be a reason for the delaying of spot Bitcoin ETF approval which is expected to happen late on Wednesday. Unfortunately, instances of market manipulation in the cryptocurrency sector are a recurring tactic.

Here are the most common risks in the cryptocurrency sector.

Phishing Attacks: This is when users can be tricked into revealing their private keys or login credentials through phishing emails or websites. This involves the practice of sending