Second Major Etherium Theft in Less than a Week

In a major cyber attack this week, $34m of cryto-currency has been stolen. This is the 2nd major attack this week and as such begs the question, is your online currency safe? More so, is it still safe to earn/invest in it if security is so poor?

Is your online money safe?

The latest attack has been on the digital wallet service, Parity. Such companies allow you to ‘safely’ store your online currency in their ‘bank’. The attack on Parity, reports PcGames, found a vulnerability in their security.  The resultant exploit allowed for $34m of the Etherium crypto-currency to be stolen from various accounts. White Hat Hackers were reported able to ‘save’ $84m which was also attempted, however, such figures are very scary.

Cops and Robbers!

Lets be honest here, you take a risk with any transaction you conduct online. Given the lucrative world of Etherium, Bitcoin and crypo-currency mining, more and more people are looking to get onto the boat. The problem is that the number of people looking to earn from this currency seems to be significantly outweighing the security. This attack represents, just this week, a total of over $40m which has been stolen. This isn’t like losing £19 from your PayPal account, this is scary big numbers.

The report on the previous theft, just this week, can be read here.

Had it not been for the White Hat Hackers in this instance, the attack would have been monumental. White Hat hackers, for those unaware, are hackers who may have come from a shady background, however, have decided to turn their powers to do good and work for internet security. They are, for want of a better description, Gru from Despicable Me, they were bad, but have chosen to be good.

What can I do to protect myself?

At this point, I have no idea. Either accept it as a liability of online cryto-currencies or do your best to find a ‘bank’ with better security. The days of people in masks entering banks and demanded that the cashiers put all the money in a paper bag might be over, however, this new alternative is perhaps more scary as we move closer and closer to a non-physical currency.