User information and asset security is PLAAK’s priority

According to the Times of Israel, an expert from the Israeli cybersecurity company Check Point Software Technologies has made the grim prediction that cryptocurrency-related crime will surpass all other cyber-attacks in 2018.

With ongoing reports of near-daily incidents of hacking and crypto related attacks occurring, this prediction seems to be fast becoming a reality. The term “hack” is enough to strike fear in the hearts of every exchange user.

The infamous Mt Gox hack of 2014 saw a whopping estimated $450 million stolen. Four years on and these big cyber-heists are still happening. At the beginning of the year, one of Japan’s biggest crypto exchanges, Coincheck, had around $400 million in NEM coins stolen. Even more recently this month, the sixth largest exchange Bithumb was hacked and reportedly around $31million was stolen.

The most concerning aspect of these reports of hacking and stolen crypto-assets are their repetition. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. Mt Gox’s hacking incident of 2014 wasn’t their first, having also suffered a previous attack in 2011 with around $8.75 million stolen. Bithumb also experienced a prior attack only last year that saw both user information and assets stolen. The incident was not just isolated to stolen information, with many users becoming victims of subsequent scams due to misuse of the stolen information.

There is the argument that users should be completely aware of the risks when trading and storing assets on exchanges. Most exchanges are completely uninsured, and inappropriately regulated. So it becomes a finger pointing game. In particular, centralised exchanges are notorious for highlighting that the onus of storing assets securely falls on the user. However it would be impossible for a user to be aware of every possible risk, and whilst users should educate themselves as much as possible, there also needs to be a form of compromise with companies to make their business more accountable.

In the last month, PLAAK has really been impressing the importance of striking a happy balance. Taking on the responsibility of a user’s information has been taken very seriously by the team. All aspects of the platform are being thoroughly overturned to ensure that security is maintained at a high standard to ensure that everything possible is done to prevent the unfortunate recurring nightmares of other exchanges.

Part of the process has been partnering with Dan Litwak and his highly experienced team of professionals at Hawk Cyber Security. Dan is an experienced developer and security consultant with more than 15 years’ experience in the areas of cyber security, security architecture and design, cyber warfare and incident response. He boasts an impressive portfolio, having performed security assessments for Fortune 500 companies, government organizations as well as for start-ups and other medium-sized companies.

His company’s motto: “Building trust through results”, echoes PLAAK’s own set of values and commitment to deliver high standards of security across the ecosystem. Moving forward, Hawk Cyber Security will assess the security of PLAAK’s platform through a variety of exercises such as architecture review, attack and penetration testing, network vulnerability identification service, code review and more. Each type of assessment will provide PLAAK with the proper insight to enhance the overall security of the project and give users of the platform peace of mind. The meticulous attention to security detail is imperative. PLAAK has also been looking at many other security arsenals to add to the growing toolkit, which will be discussed further as they are implemented.

While educating oneself about the risks of trading on exchanges is always strongly encouraged, PLAAK aim to establish a sense of assurance that users’ information and asset security is being considered a priority. Even though it has taken more time to establish extra security measures, the team have used the time wisely and efficiently. The team opted to face the disappointment of pushing PLAAK’s exchange launch back a little rather than compromising on a feature that is of paramount importance.

Head to our website for more information about our ecosystem and how PLAAK is giving control back to you.

Press Release Enquiry to:

PLAAK Australia Pty Ltd Perth, Western Australia marketing@plaak.com www.plaak.com