Kraken Concerned About Weak Privacy Protection for Crypto Conference Participants

Jun 9 | 08:24

4 min

Crypto conference attendees often ignore basic digital security measures, leaving them vulnerable to attacks from scammers.

According to Nick Percoco, who is responsible for security at the Kraken crypto exchange, at events of this level, you can often see working laptops and smartphones left on the table, belonging to representatives of large projects from the industry. At the same time, clients receive real-time notifications from crypto wallets, signaling the presence of active connections and access to valuable digital resources. Percoco emphasized that for those who work with cryptocurrency, personal devices are not just gadgets, but full-fledged digital storage facilities containing access to funds, both personal and corporate.

"If you are involved in the crypto market, your phone or laptop is your bank. And you should treat it accordingly," he said.

The specialist recommended that event participants always keep their devices close by and use reliable blocking methods, especially in crowded places. He also reminded about the main principle of cryptoeconomics.

“Cryptocurrency gives you the ability to be your own bank, but you can’t achieve that freedom unless you protect your own technology,” he said.

According to Perko, crypto events are becoming a favorite venue for cybercriminals. Many attackers attend conferences, create fake profiles and pose as employees of well-known companies or potential investors. Common attack methods include so-called “juice jacking,” which involves injecting malware through public USB charging devices.

Another danger is the use of public Wi-Fi networks, which can be hacked or replaced by hackers to intercept data. QR codes, which have become a popular way to quickly navigate to websites and services, also pose a risk. Although there have been no cases of such codes being replaced at events, in theory, attackers could replace the original QR code with a phishing version that leads to web resources with malicious content.